Foreigners boost trade activity

Foreigners boost trade activity

JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta stock market rose for the fourth
consecutive day yesterday as foreign buyers continued to enter
the market.

Securities dealers said foreign investors made significant
purchases of selected stocks.

"It seems that foreign investors are now more confident about
political stability. Street rallies staged by the three political
parties are still under control," one analyst said.

He said the upward trend would probably continue in the coming
weeks "if the political atmosphere remains like today."

The JSX composite index ended 6.85 points firmer at 673.69 in
trade worth Rp 599.74 billion (US$249.89 million).

Trade in big companies dominated with several blue chips
rising significantly.

"It is the right time for investors to buy the stocks now, "
the analyst said.

Telkom surged Rp 150 to Rp 3,850, Indosat rose Rp 100 to Rp
7,100, cigarette maker Sampoerna was up Rp 175 at Rp 10,000,
while Gudang Garam added Rp 225 to Rp 10,550.

Lippo stocks were all up as Multipolar rose Rp 75 to Rp 1800
after announcing rights issue. Lippo Securities jumped Rp 50 to
Rp 1,750, Lippo Bank rose Rp 25 to Rp 2,375 and Lippo Life gained
Rp 25 to Rp 3,075.

Cocoa processor and edible oil maker Cahaya Kalbar climbed Rp
150 to Rp 2,825 on news it would soon buy the privately run PT
Mintawi for about Rp 62 billion (US$25.83 million).

In the currency market, the rupiah was slightly weaker against
the dollar in slow late trading.

Dealers said trading was pretty dull, probably because foreign
players were focusing on the Thai baht which was hit by
speculation of band widening rumors.

The dealer said operators shrugged off the central bank move
to appreciate the rupiah by one point, widely expected after the
dollar nosedived against the yen in overseas markets.

The central bank lowered its intervention band by one point to
2,407/2,599 and the conversion band also by one point to
2,407/2,455 on Friday.

Spot rupiah was at 2,429.0/29.5 at 0900 GMT, compared with an
opening of 2,429.0/30.0. It rose to a high 2,427 earlier.