Shares index reaches fresh record high<\/p>\n
Dow Jones
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesian shares ended at yet another fresh record high on
\nFriday as investor sentiment toward local stocks stayed buoyant
\nafter Thursday's healthy rally, dealers said.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Stock Exchange's Composite Index rose 14.73
\npoints, or 1.3 percent, to 1,172.24, after rising 1.5 percent on
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
Bear Stearns earlier this week upgraded Indonesian equities to
\noverweight from market weight, which dealers cited as one of the
\nfactors behind Thursday's rally. The U.S.-based investment house
\nsaid in a report that there has been "sufficient" progress on
\nstructural reforms in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
"Today's and yesterday's rallies were healthy as they were
\nsupported by robust trading volume," said a dealer.<\/p>\n
However, volume dipped slightly, with 2.1 billion shares worth
\nRp 1.93 trillion changing hands on Friday, compared with 2.5
\nbillion shares valued at Rp 2.3 trillion on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Gainers led decliners 71 to 58, with 74 stocks unchanged.<\/p>\n
Bellwether Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) rose 6.4 percent
\nto Rp 5,800 on expectations it will report solid first-half
\nearnings.<\/p>\n
Its rival Indosat gained 3.6 percent to Rp 5,750. Indonesia's
\nlargest automotive group of companies, Astra International, edged
\nup 2 percent to Rp 12,900.<\/p>\n
Cigarette maker Gudang Garam, however, dropped 2.3 percent to
\nRp 13,000 as its sales are expected to be hurt by the
\ngovernment's decision to raise minimum cigarette prices to boost
\nexcise tax revenue.<\/p>\n
The nation's largest lender by assets, Bank Mandiri, rose 0.6
\npercent to Rp 1,590, and the second largest bank, Bank Central
\nAsia, fell 2.1 percent to Rp 3,500 on profit taking.<\/p>\n
Dealers expect shares to continue rising on Monday, but warn
\nthat profit taking is looming.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the rupiah ended also slightly higher on the
\ndollar's slide against most Asian currencies following a
\nrevaluation of the Chinese yuan.<\/p>\n
However, the rupiah failed to keep most of its intraday gains
\nas dollar demand from local companies was healthy, dealers said.<\/p>\n
The dollar closed at Rp 9,795, down from Rp 9,800 on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The U.S. unit fell to an intraday low of Rp 9,710 in the
\nmorning, but the slide only whet the dollar appetite of local
\ncompanies, which snapped up the currency to pay maturing offshore
\nobligations, dealers said.<\/p>\n
Dealers also said the rupiah's failure to stage a significant
\nrally against the dollar could be a sign that the market believes
\nIndonesia's economy is unlikely to benefit greatly from the yuan
\nrevaluation.<\/p>\n
Some analysts had earlier expected the rupiah to rise
\nsignificantly against the dollar, and eventually help ease
\ndomestic inflationary pressures.<\/p>\n
On Friday, Indonesia's Senior Economic Minister Aburizal
\nBakrie said the revaluation of the yuan won't have a major impact
\non the Indonesian economy as the magnitude is small.<\/p>\n
Dealers said that there is no sign yet that corporate dollar
\ndemand is abating.<\/p>\n
"It looks very hard for the rupiah to rise significantly as
\ncorporate dollar need is still big," a dealer with a local bank
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Dealers expect the dollar to trade between Rp 9,700 and Rp
\n9,850 next week.<\/p>",
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