JAKARTA (JP): Trading at the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX)

JAKARTA (JP): Trading at the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) continued to heat up yesterday with the broad-based Composite Index recording a five-point increase to close at 477.21.

The Indonesian markets followed the lead of Wall Street and did not react much to Tuesday's 0.5-point rise in U.S. interest rates, a securities analyst said.

The Dow Jones industrial average yesterday closed higher, despite the U.S. Federal Reserve's move to increase interest rates for the fourth time this year. Most Asian markets reacted positively to the hike, and jumps were made in the prices of blue-chip shares.

The narrow-based GTDBS-50 Index also strengthened to close at 112.20 yesterday, as compared to 110.29 on Tuesday.

Trading volume, however, sank to 23.61 million shares worth Rp 108.44 billion (US$50.37 million) from 33.86 million shares valued at Rp 174.48 billion.

The best performers included Andayani Megah (+Rp 300), Duta Anggada Realty (+Rp 250), Ficorinvest Bank (+Rp 200), Hero Supermarket (+Rp 200), Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa (+Rp 500), Jaya Pari Steel (+Rp 300), Kabel Metal Indonesia (+Rp 425), Kalbe Farma (+Rp 500), Modernland Realty Ltd. (+Rp 200), Modern Photo (+Rp 400), Matahari Putra Prima (+Rp 500), Unggul Indah Corp. (+Rp 600) and United Tractor (+Rp 600).

Yesterday's top losers were Sepatu Bata (-Rp 600), Bayu Buana (-Rp 200), Bakrie & Brothers (-Rp 500), Polysindo Eka Perkasa (- Rp 300), Smart Corporation (-Rp 1,075) and Unilever Indonesia (-Rp 500).

A total of 13.52 million shares changed hands at Rp 58.69 billion on the regular board yesterday, 300,000 shares at Rp 1.37 billion on the block sale board, 8.52 million shares at Rp 38.54 billion on the crossing board and 1.26 million shares at Rp 9.83 billion at the foreign board.

The odd lot and cash trading boards recorded no transactions yesterday. (fhp)