Local stocks keep falling

JAKARTA (JP): Share prices on the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) continued to lose ground yesterday sparked by a sharp drop in Telkom's share price.

An HG Asia dealer said the market was featureless as investors were not hungry for shares.

The JSX composite index closed 1.7 percent lower or 11.49 points at 659.44.

More than 236 million shares worth Rp 479.9 billion were traded.

Securities analysts said Telkom plunged on rumors the government would license a private company to provide a long- distance call service

Telkom, which has a monopoly on domestic telephone services, lost Rp 175 to Rp 3,650 in heavy trade as investors dropped the stock like a hot potato.

"The selling pressure on Telkom killed overall buying sentiment," one broker said, adding that foreign investors led the selling spree after Telkom shares fell in New York and London overnight

Indosat shed Rp 25 to Rp 6,525, BNI was down Rp 25 at Rp 1,375, Bank International Indonesia dropped Rp 25 to Rp 1,800, Danamon slipped Rp 50 at Rp 2,525, while Lippo Bank eased Rp 50 to Rp 2,525.

Cigarette maker Sampoerna fell Rp 25 to Rp 11,375, while rival Gudang Garam lost Rp 375 to Rp 10,175.

Rupiah

The rupiah remained weak against the U.S. dollar.

Spot rupiah prices were quoted at 2,405.50/06.00 at 1000 GMT after opening at 2,404.00/05.00.

Dealers said the market was slow while the central bank kept the system flushed ahead of year-end tax payments.

The central bank's sustained large injection aims partly to keep interest rates low for tax payments, dealers said.