Shares end lower; Sampoerna down<\/p>\n
Dow Jones, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesian shares ended lower on Tuesday, led by profit-taking in
\ncigarette blue chips and selling in Bank Mandiri on expectations
\nthat the bank will book lower first-quarter earnings because of
\nhigher loan-loss provisions, dealers said.<\/p>\n
The day's losses echoed declines in other regional markets,
\nbut gains in bellwether Telekomunikasi Indonesia helped prevent
\nthe key stock index from falling further.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite Index ended down 4.481
\npoints, or 0.4 percent, at 1119.001, off the session's low of
\n1112.103.<\/p>\n
Decliners outnumbered gainers 81 to 59, with 83 stocks
\nunchanged.<\/p>\n
Volume amounted to 2.6 billion shares valued at Rp 2.8
\ntrillion, from 2.3 billion shares valued at Rp 2.8 trillion on
\nMonday.<\/p>\n
Profit-taking hurt shares of cigarette maker HM Sampoerna,
\nwhich fell 1.9 percent to end at Rp 10,200. Sampoerna shares rose
\n18 percent on Monday on news that Philip Morris will pay Rp
\n10,600 a share for a 40 percent stake in the company.<\/p>\n
Rival cigarette maker Gudang Garam fell 4.6 percent to Rp
\n17,550, also on profit-taking, after a 13 percent jump on Monday.<\/p>\n
Also down was Bank Mandiri, which shed 3.9 percent to Rp
\n1,710, and Bank Negara Indonesia, which fell 2.8 percent to Rp
\n1,750. Apart from profit-taking, dealers attributed the selling
\nin banking stocks to renewed worries that the central bank will
\nraise interest rates to curb rising inflation stemming from
\nrecent fuel price hikes.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Telkom shares rose 1.7 percent to Rp 4,375,
\nrebounding after sharp losses last week on expectations that the
\ncompany would report weaker 2004 earnings later this month.<\/p>\n
Plantation stocks continued to extend their gains on
\nanticipation of a better 2005 due to firmer commodity prices.<\/p>\n
Shares of crude palm oil producer Astra Agro Lestari added 8.2
\npercent to Rp 3,975 while those of its rival London Sumatra
\ngained 2.2 percent to Rp 1,850.<\/p>\n
Dealers expect the market to move lower Wednesday on further
\nprofit-taking in cigarette blue chips.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the rupiah ended higher on Tuesday as news of
\nPhilip Morris buying a stake in a local cigarette company
\ncontinued to help sentiment.<\/p>\n
The dollar ended at Rp 9,350, down from Monday's close of Rp
\n9,375.<\/p>\n
The U.S. tobacco company said on Monday it agreed to buy a 40
\npercent stake in HM Sampoerna for $2 billion and would increase
\nthat amount to about $5 billion if it manages to buy the
\nremaining 60 percent.<\/p>\n
The market took the news as a further sign of improving
\nsentiment toward Indonesia amid increasing political and economic
\nstability.<\/p>\n
However, dealers said that despite the huge amount of cash
\nPhilip Morris is spending on the acquisition, actual fund inflows
\nmay not be as large as expected as most of the cash is likely to
\nbe kept in offshore accounts.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, \"it (Philip Morris's acquisition) is such a big
\ndeal for Indonesia that the market can't ignore it completely,\" a
\ndealer with a foreign bank said.<\/p>\n
Dealers said abating dollar demand from local companies also
\nhelped the rupiah. Local companies were cited as the main dollar
\nbuyers ON Monday, likely buying to hedge their offshore
\nobligations.<\/p>\n
Dealers expect the dollar to trade between RP 9,325 and RP
\n9,365 on Wednesday.<\/p>",
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