Jakarta shares up led by Astra, BNI

Jakarta shares up led by Astra, BNI

Dow Jones, Jakarta

Jakarta shares ended higher for the fifth consecutive session on Thursday, led by gains in automotive company Astra International and Bank Negara Indonesia, or BNI.

Dealers said rallies in many Asian markets boosted buying on the local bourse, but weakness in the nation's currency spurred profit taking, offsetting gains on the main index.

The Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite index ended up 0.6 percent or 6.180 points, at 1,125.759, down from an intraday high of 1,131.864.

Decliners, however, led gainers 59 to 54, with 70 stocks unchanged. Volume was 1.4 billion shares valued at Rp 1.5 trillion, compared with 1.87 billion shares valued at Rp 1.6 trillion on Wednesday.

Astra International jumped 4.8 percent to Rp 13,100 as the company completed registering shareholders eligible for a Rp 270- a-share dividend on Thursday.

Dealers said Astra's shares may fall Friday as they will be trading ex-dividend.

BNI, the nation's third largest lender by assets, gained 3.5 percent to Rp 1,760 on expectations the government will resume a plan to sell a 30 percent stake in the bank later this year.

The Indonesian government has a 99.12 percent stake in BNI.

Shares in bellwether Telekomunikasi Indonesia rose 1 percent to Rp 4,925 on further foreign buying after its American Depositary Receipts in New York on Wednesday rose 0.5 percent to $20.35.

On the down side, Indonesian Satellite (Indosat) fell 0.9 percent to Rp 5,450 and cement maker Semen Gresik lost 2.1 percent to Rp 18,300 on profit taking after gains in the previous three sessions.

Dealers said they expect the market to trade lower on Friday on profit taking after the main index gained in the previous five sessions.

On the currency market, the rupiah closed lower in relatively volatile trading on news that Bank Indonesia, the central bank, will tighten foreign-exchange trading next month, dealers said.

The dollar closed at Rp 9,620, up from its close on Wednesday at Rp 9,603.

The greenback fell to an intraday low of Rp 9,593 earlier in the day as it fell against other major rivals. But a knee-jerk reaction to the central bank's move sent the dollar to an intraday high of Rp 9,630 as players, initially unclear about the implications of the announcement, fled to safety by buying dollars. "The near-term risk is that USD/IDR spot could be squeezed higher even further as offshore investors have been net sellers of USD/IDR forward," said Claudio Piron, Asian currency strategist at JPMorganChase Bank N.A.

Bank Indonesia said in a regulation issued late on Wednesday that effective July 14, it will cut foreign-exchange derivative transactions by banks here with foreign counterparts against the rupiah to a maximum of $1 million from a previous total of $3 million.

Dollar purchases in outright forward transactions and swaps are also limited to a $1 million total. These types of transactions previously weren't subject to any cap.

Analysts said the new move may not help the central bank achieve its goal of helping the rupiah, as genuine dollar demand from local companies to pay offshore obligations -- including rising import bills - remains robust.

Dealers said Bank Indonesia will meet with bankers Monday to explain the new rule.