Indonesian stocks seen moving slightly higher this week
Indonesian stocks seen moving slightly higher this week
Agence France-Presse
Jakarta
Indonesia's stock market is expected to continue its rise this
week after climbing 1.87 percent in the past week, an analyst
said on Friday.
"For this week, we anticipate the market to go up slightly due
to attractive prices of some blue chip stocks," said BNI
Securities analyst Norico Gaman.
The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed on Friday at
773.140, up 14.216 points or 1.87 percent on the previous Friday.
Average daily volume was 1.72 billion shares worth Rp 808.2
billion (US$96.2 million) compared with 2.41 billion shares worth
Rp 1.1 trillion the previous week.
Gaman said the index would undergo a minor correction some
time this week but the prices of blue chips like Indofood,
Unilever, Telkom, Gudang Garam and Sampoerna remain attractive
for investors.
He said investors are also interested in Bank Mandiri and Bank
Rakyat Indonesia.
Elsewhere in Tokyo, Japanese stocks are seen rallying this
week after a month-long correction on expectations of positive
economic growth data, brokers said on Friday.
"Share prices will basically consolidate, beginning to become
firm in tone," said Nikko Cordial Securities equity marketing
manager Hiroichi Nishi. "From a technical viewpoint, the market
has shifted into a buying zone."
He said it had been nearly four weeks since the key Nikkei
average of 225 leading issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange peaked
at 11,103 on Jan. 20.
Recent major corrections lasted about five weeks each time --
from July to August and from October to November. "It will be the
fifth week next week and prices may very well come back," Nishi
said.
The Nikkei-225 index finished the week at 10,557.69, up 96.77
points or 0.93 percent from a week earlier, reversing a 2.99-
percent decline in the preceding week.
The broader Topix index of all shares on the exchange's first
section closed at 1,041.03, up 12.2 points or 1.12 percent on the
week.
In Seoul, South Korean shares are likely to continue firmer
into next week, although there has to be some minor correction at
least after the market chalked up a seventh consecutive gain on
Friday to leave it within sight of 900 points, dealers said.
The composite index rose for a seventh straight session on
Friday to close at a 21-month high of 882.18, up 0.5 percent on
the day and up 3.8 percent over the week.
In Hong Kong, stock market is expected to storm towards the
14,000 points mark this week on improving sentiment about the
economy and key property sector, dealers said.
Over the past week, the Hang Seng Index rose by 336.81 points
or 3.23 percent to close Friday at 13,739.80.
In Singapore, shares are expected to trade in a tight range
this week with most major company results for the December 2003
quarter already out, dealers said on Friday.
A public holiday in the United States on Monday will also
dampen trading sentiment at the beginning of the week, they said.
The Straits Times Index closed on Friday at 1,864.07 points,
up 9.66 points or 0.52 percent from the previous week.
In Bangkok, Thai bourse is expected to build on a strong rally
and extend its gains this week, thanks to impressive earnings
from listed companies and the subsiding bird flu crisis, analysts
said.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index soared
44.03 points or 6.19 percent over the past week to close on
Friday at 755.18 points.
In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian stocks are likely to hold at
current levels in rangebound trade with little incentive to drive
prices higher after surging 1.30 percent this week, analysts
said.
The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange composite index rose 10.49
points in the past week to close on Friday at 825.91.