JSX to fluctuate on Taiwan's election
JSX to fluctuate on Taiwan's election
JAKARTA (JP): Prices on the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) are likely to fluctuate sharply due to expectations whether the presidential election in Taiwan will help ease tensions with China, analysts said.
An analyst from PT Sanyo Primarindo, Roberto Toruan, told The Jakarta Post that many fund managers became less active over the last few weeks in Asia as a result of the increasing tension between China and Taiwan.
"Under such circumstances it's very difficult to foresee what investors' sentiment will be next week," he said.
Roberto, however, said that some companies may publish their financial reports this week for the whole of last year or even the first quarter result of this year.
"I hope some of the reports may help boost the performance of shares," he said.
"One thing's for sure, the market is likely to drop or go up sharply depending on how China and Taiwan manage their tensions after the Taiwanese election," he added.
An executive of PT Sigma Batara, Ignasius Yonan, noted another reason for the less active participation of foreign fund managers.
"In addition to the Taiwan crisis, foreign fund managers also considered that most of big-cap stocks were already overvalued," Ignasius told the Post.
Therefore, according to Ignasius, the market will be flat this week as foreign investors will continue to stay sidelined.
"But the overall market will get support if Taiwan and China end their conflict this week," he added.
Trading on the JSX last week, according to some analysts, was dominated by second liners, particularly from the property sector, like Duta Pertiwi, Lippo Land Development and Ciputra Development.
The JSX composite index closed the week 9.23 points (1.6 percent) higher at 586.02 after reaching its highest at 587.85 points.
Total turnover reached 348.7 million shares worth Rp 1.1 trillion (US$475.2 million) during last weeks's four trading days. The bourse was closed on Thursday for a national public holiday.
Duta Pertiwi, a property developer, gained 14 percent with a total transaction of 21.7 million shares worth Rp 42.2 billion.
Lippo Land Development also increased by 13 percent to close at Rp 4,300 with 11.9 million shares changing hands valued at Rp 47.8 billion.
A cable firm, PT Kabelindo Murni, advanced 33 percent to Rp 1,200 with a total trading of 16 million shares worth Rp 17.2 billion buoyed by rumors that the company would distribute dividends of Rp 300 per share.
Roberto, however, said investors might have been mislead by the rumors because it is almost impossible for Kabelindo to give such a big dividends.
Big cap stocks Astra International closed Rp 200 lower at Rp 2,875 and Barito Pacific Timber dropped by Rp 125 to Rp 2,425.
Gudang Garam rose by Rp 800 to Rp 28,050, Indosat by Rp 25 to Rp 8,300 and HM Sampoerna by Rp 1,075 to Rp 24,875. (08)