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)