Stock prices continue to fall, but rupiah stable<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The easing of concerns over President Soeharto's
\nhealth failed to boost trading activity on the Jakarta Stock
\nExchange (JSX) yesterday.<\/p>\n
Share prices continued falling in line with the decline in the
\nregional markets.<\/p>\n
\"I would say that the impact of the rumor on Soeharto's health
\nhas faded. But the market is going to see soft trading until the
\nresults of Soeharto's medical check-up are known,\" a dealer from
\nPT Peregrine Sewu Indonesia told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
\"I don't think that investors' confidence is completely
\nrecovered, but it should be enough to support the market,\" the
\ndealer said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the rupiah managed to stabilize yesterday against
\nthe U.S. dollar, but foreign exchange dealers said that investors
\nremained cautious over fears of Soeharto's health.<\/p>\n
On the spot market, the rupiah inched up to close the day at
\n2,337 from a range of 2,239 and 2,341 in morning trading.<\/p>\n
The stock dealer said that yesterday's JSX decline was in tune
\nwith a weakening performance in the regional markets, such as in
\nHong Kong, which closed 3 percent lower following the
\nannouncement of a stronger employment figure in the United States
\nover the weekend.<\/p>\n
The figure made the equity market less interesting on the
\npossibility of an increase in U.S. interest rates.<\/p>\n
The JSX composite index declined by 1.2 points to close at
\n575.83 yesterday.<\/p>\n
\"But it's worth noting that a 0.2 percent decline on the JSX
\nis relatively lower than the decline in other markets,\" he added.<\/p>\n
\"It could happen, because the JSX was already in an `oversold'
\nsituation when other markets began to decline,\" he said.<\/p>\n
JSX share prices were down 3.2 percent last week, as investors
\noverreacted to the rumor about Soeharto's health.<\/p>\n
Commenting on yesterday's trading activities, the dealer from
\nPeregrine said that the market was actually still under pressure
\nin the morning session, in which the composite index closed the
\nsession seven points lower.<\/p>\n
\"But in late afternoon, foreign investors were back to take
\nposition on Telkom and Indosat. Following the foreign investors'
\nmove, local investors also tried to chase not only second liner
\nstocks, but also big shares,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"And those transactions, which happened in less than one hour
\nbefore the market close, were able to cut the loss to only 1.2
\npoints at the close in the afternoon,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Declining stocks outnumbered advancing stocks 47 to 44, while
\n36 were unchanged.<\/p>\n
Indosat<\/p>\n
Indosat went up by two points to close at Rp 7,400, while
\nTelkom rose one point to Rp 3,450.<\/p>\n
Cigarette maker Gudang Garam dropped by eight points to close
\nat Rp 9,200, while its rival HM Sampoerna decreased one point to
\nRp 24,575.<\/p>\n
The JSX booked total transactions of 70 million shares worth
\nRp 179 billion yesterday.<\/p>\n
The shares of a distributor of computer equipment, Inter
\nDelta, managed to go up yesterday, although the company's
\nmanagement has declined rumors about corporate action, which
\nboosted the trading of its shares last week.<\/p>\n
Inter Delta's share prices, which closed last week 84 percent
\nhigher, rose again by Rp 425 to Rp 2,225 at yesterday's close,
\nwith 3.3 million shares changing hands.<\/p>\n
\"In our view, there was no relevant information which can
\ninfluence Inter Delta's price movement. Therefore, the price
\nincrease was out of our control,\" the company said in a statement
\nto the JSX.<\/p>\n
\"For the time being, we have yet to propose any corporate
\naction whether to divest or to acquire shares in other companies.
\nWe have never been informed by any parties who want to make a
\ntender offer,\" the statement said.<\/p>\n
No JSX directors were available to comment on the issue.<\/p>\n
\"I think the rumor is going to prove true,\" a dealer with a
\nforeign brokerage firm said.<\/p>\n
Foreign exchange dealers said that the currency trading
\ndeclined, with many investors sidelining the money market while
\nawaiting details on Soeharto's health.<\/p>\n
The dealers said the central bank had yet to intervene in the
\nmarket, as the dollar's rise was still far below the upper-level
\nof its intervention rate.<\/p>\n
A dealer at a foreign exchange bank said that sales of Bank
\nIndonesia's short-term promissory notes (SBIs), worth Rp 703
\nbillion during the day, significantly reduced the rupiah supply.<\/p>\n
\"The shorter supply slightly supported the rupiah value. It
\nmeant that even though there was no direct intervention, the
\ncentral bank was still able to push the rupiah value down through
\nthe sales of its SBIs,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The central bank's intervention band against the American
\ncurrency was set at 2,323 and 2,441, while yesterday's conversion
\nrate was recorded at 2,323 (buy) and 2,369 (sale). (alo\/hen)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/stock-prices-continue-to-fall-but-rupiah-stable-1447893297",
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