Index remains hot, at highest level since March 2000
Index remains hot, at highest level since March 2000
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
The Jakarta Composite Index ended higher on Friday for the
fifth consecutive day, thanks to sustained heavy buying by
foreign investors on blue chips.
The index closed at 582.32 points, 1.2 percent higher than
Thursday's closing, with total value of Rp 1.3 trillion (US$156
million), breaking the Rp 1 trillion level for the third day in a
row.
The current level is the highest since March, 2000. The index
has risen by around 33 percent since the start of the year.
Dealers pointed to the country's relatively stable
macroeconomic picture as one of the reasons behind the influx of
foreign funds into the local market in the past three days, with
CLSA Indonesia, BNP Paribas and ING Securities Indonesia cited as
the most active buyers.
The falling SBI interest rate also makes the stock market more
attractive for investors seeking quick returns. The central bank
this week slashed its rate to a historic low of 8.83 percent, on
benign inflation.
The active buying started on Wednesday, which saw the trading
value jump to over Rp 1 trillion, far surpassing the normal daily
value of between Rp 300 and Rp 400 billion.
At intraday trading on Friday, the index even reached a record
high of 590.34, but massive sell-offs -- mostly by domestic
investors -- in the afternoon session pulled the index down.
At the close, decliners topped gainers 75 to 64, with 94
stocks unchanged.
The country's state telecommunications firm Telekomunikasi
Indonesia (Telkom) and auto producer Astra International led the
gainers, rising by 5 percent and 4.1 percent, respectively.
Telkom hit an all-time high at of Rp 5,300 per share, while
Astra at Rp 4,400.
Other gainers were instant noodle producer Indofood, rising by
Rp 25 to Rp 750, and rival Unilever, which closed Rp 25 higher to
Rp 3,450.
Other market movers were not that lucky, having to whether
heavy profit-taking.
Indosat, another state-owned telecommunications firm, lost 1.1
percent of its value to Rp 8,700.
The country's two largest cigarette makers Gudang Garam and
Sampoerna also bore the brunt of the profit-taking, shedding Rp
250 and Rp 25 respectively to close at Rp 10,550 and Rp 4,350.
Asked about the outlook for next week, a dealer at a state-
owned bank said: "Even though there is overall positive
sentiment, I expect the index to be under slight pressure on
profit-taking after rising significantly this week."
In over three days of heavy buying, the index surged by 8.6
percent.
Meanwhile, in the currency market, the active trading in the
stock market failed to get the rupiah released from the pressure
arising from the dollar short covering ahead of the weekend.
The rupiah ended lower at 8,495 per dollar on Friday against
8,480 the day earlier.
"The firmer U.S. dollar against regional currencies also
helped the weaker closing of the rupiah," said a dealer, but was
quick to add that the prospect of the local unit remained good on
the planned bond issue on Sept. 9.
The government plans to issue Rp 5 trillion in bonds to help
finance the maturing bonds.