Shares end down as telecommunications and cigarette stocks continue to fall<\/p>\n
Dow Jones, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesian shares ended lower on Tuesday for the second
\nconsecutive day as investors continued to take profit in
\ntelecommunication and cigarette blue chips, dealers said.<\/p>\n
\"Selling in these blue chips pushed the main index lower,\"
\nsaid a trader with BNI Securities.<\/p>\n
Dealers said overall sentiment remained weak because of
\nrenewed fears that the Indonesian central bank will raise
\ninterest rates to combat inflation stemming from higher fuel
\nprices.<\/p>\n
The government has said it plans to cut fuel subsidies later
\nthis year to reduce the 2005 budget deficit.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite Index ended down 3.805
\npoints, or 0.4 percent, at 1011.67 points, up slightly from an
\nintraday low of 1005.20 points.<\/p>\n
Decliners led gainers 65 to 53, with 75 stocks unchanged.<\/p>\n
Volume was 1.55 billion shares valued at Rp 1.8 trillion,
\ncompared with 2.17 billion shares valued at Rp 1.8 trillion on
\nMonday.<\/p>\n
Telekomunikasi Indonesia fell 2 percent to close at Rp 4,850
\non profit-taking and after its American Depositary Receipts in
\nNew York closed 3.6 percent lower on Monday at $21.10.<\/p>\n
Telkom's rival Indonesian Satellite dropped 3.3 percent to end
\nat Rp 5,950, also on profit-taking and after its ADRs closed down
\n3.2 percent at $33.15.<\/p>\n
The telecommunication companies also fell on Monday after
\nsharp gains last week.<\/p>\n
Profit-taking also hit cigarette maker Gudang Garam, which
\nclosed down 0.7 percent at Rp 14,050, and rival Hanjaya Mandala
\nSampoerna, which dropped 1.4 percent to Rp 6,900.<\/p>\n
Bucking the trend was Bank Danamon, which ended up 1.8 percent
\nat Rp 4,325, and oil and gas producer Medco Energi, which jumped
\n7 percent to Rp 2,250 on a rebound.<\/p>\n
Dealers said they expect the market to trade slightly higher
\nWednesday on a rebound after the main index's fall in the
\nprevious two sessions.<\/p>\n
The rupiah closed higher in active trading on Tuesday ahead of
\na key meeting of lenders on hopes that any debt relief for the
\ncountry will ease demand for the U.S. dollar this year, dealers
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The rupiah closed at 9,285 per dollar, down from its close on
\nMonday at 9,295.<\/p>\n
\"Foreign market participants built fresh short (dollar
\npositions) today,\" said a dealer with a European bank in Jakarta.
\n\"The amount was quite healthy.\"<\/p>\n
The Paris Club lenders are scheduled to meet on Wednesday to
\ndiscuss a debt relief package for countries affected by the
\nDecember tsunami disaster.<\/p>\n
Dealers, however, said that healthy demand from local
\nimporters prevented the greenback from falling further. They said
\nthat state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina was suspected to
\nbe among the main dollar buyers, likely to finance higher fuel
\nimports.<\/p>\n
A senior official with Pertamina had told reporters on Monday
\nthat the company would boost its import of jet fuel amid
\nincreased efforts to airlift humanitarian aid to areas affected
\nby last month's catastrophe.<\/p>\n
Dealers expect the dollar to trade between Rp 9,270 and Rp
\n9,300 on Wednesday.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/shares-end-down-as-telecommunications-and-cigarette-stocks-continue-to-fall-1447899208",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}