Shares up on bargain hunting<\/p>\n
Dow Jones, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesian shares ended higher on Wednesday as bargain hunters
\n- primarily foreigners - bought back most blue chips that fell in
\nthe previous five sessions, dealers said.<\/p>\n
They said sentiment on the local bourse got a boost from gains
\nacross Asian markets after the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy
\ncommittee raised its key interest rate by the widely-expected
\nquarter percentage point overnight.<\/p>\n
"The rebound could also indicate that underlying sentiment for
\nIndonesian shares remains positive," said an analyst with a local
\nsecurities firm. He said the market still expects that the
\neconomy will perform better next year under the new government.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite Index ended up 17.078
\npoints, or 1.9 percent, at 939.151. The main index had fallen 6.5
\npercent in the previous five sessions due to profit taking and
\nthe depreciation of the rupiah against the U.S. dollar.<\/p>\n
Gainers led decliners 95 to 25, with 66 stocks unchanged.
\nVolume was 1.1 billion shares valued at Rp 1.1 trillion, compared
\nwith 1.5 billion shares valued at Rp 1.1 trillion on Tuesday<\/p>\n
Bellwether Telekomunikasi Indonesia led gainers, rising 3.3
\npercent to Rp 4,750 on a rebound after falling 9.8 percent over
\nthe previous five sessions.<\/p>\n
Telkom rival Indonesian Satellite rose 2.8 percent to Rp
\n5,500, also on a rebound.<\/p>\n
Carmaker Astra International jumped 4.4 percent to Rp 9,400 on
\nbargain hunting after falling 8.6 percent in the previous four
\nsessions.<\/p>\n
Shares in Bank Central Asia and Bank Rakyat Indonesia,
\nhowever, succumbed to profit-taking. BCA fell 2.9 percent to Rp
\n2,550 and Bank Rakyat slipped 1 percent to Rp 2,375.<\/p>\n
Dealers said they expect the market on Thursday to trade
\nhigher on follow-through bargain hunting.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the rupiah closed higher against the dollar on
\nWednesday on suspected central bank intervention via state-owned
\nbanks, dealers said.<\/p>\n
The dollar finished at Rp 9,260, down from its close on
\nTuesday at 9,335. The U.S. currency hit an intraday high of
\n9,370.<\/p>\n
Analysts said Bank Indonesia needs to stop the rupiah from
\nfalling further to help curb imported inflation. In this way, the
\ncentral bank doesn't have to raise interest rates, which could
\nhurt the economy, they added.<\/p>\n
Traders said they suspect the central bank sold dollars around
\nthe intraday high to prevent the U.S. currency from rising above
\n9,400, which would have been a fresh six-month high.<\/p>\n
They said the dollar's fall Wednesday was also partly due to
\nprofit-taking after a recent rally, although demand for the U.S.
\ncurrency from local corporate continued to limit the dollar's
\ndownside.<\/p>\n
Dealers expect the U.S. currency to trade between 9,225 and
\n9,275 on Thursday.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/shares-up-on-bargain-hunting-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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