RI shares end flat, index at record high on Telkom
RI shares end flat, index at record high on Telkom
Dow Jones, Jakarta
Indonesian shares ended flat on Wednesday, with late gains in Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) and nickel miner Inco helping the main index hit a fresh closing high, dealers said.
"It's a dull and thin market," said a trader with a European securities firm. Many investors have already squared their positions ahead of the New year holiday, with sporadic year-end window dressing keeping the main index in positive territory, she said.
Dealers said concerns over the rising death toll from the massive earthquake and tsunamis also prevented investors from taking up strong buying positions.
The military was preparing to dig mass graves on Wednesday on Indonesia's battered Sumatra Island, where the government said the official death toll from an earthquake and tsunamis had reached more than 32,000.
The Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite Index ended up 0.51 points, or 0.1 percent, to hit a record high of 1,004.43.
Decliners, however, led gainers 76 to 43, with 92 stocks unchanged.
Volume was 1.7 billion shares valued at Rp 855 billion, compared with 1.1 billion shares valued at Rp 845 billion on Tuesday.
Bellwether Telekomunikasi Indonesia gained 1 percent at Rp 4,900 on a rebound and year-end window dressing.
International Nickel Indonesia, or Inco, rose 1.6 percent to Rp 11,250 on expectations of higher 2004 earnings, thanks to an increase in commodity prices.
Also higher were shares in Bank Rakyat Indonesia, which ended up 1.8 percent at Rp 2,900.
Profit-taking hit Bank Central Asia, the nation's second- largest lender, which fell 1.7 percent to Rp 2,975, and Bank Negara Indonesia, which lost 2.9 percent to Rp 1,700.
Dealers said they expect the market Thursday to trade slightly lower on a price correction ahead of the New Year holiday.
Meanwhile, the rupiah ended lower as companies seeking to pay maturing offshore debt and multinational corporations expatriating profits bought the U.S. unit.
The dollar closed at Rp 9,335, up from Rp 9,325 on Tuesday. The greenback hit an intraday low of Rp 9,295.
Sentiment toward the rupiah remained weak amid renewed worries about the impact on the nation's economy next year from Sunday's earthquake and tsunamis, said a trader with a state-owned bank.
Indonesia's cash-strapped government is counting on massive international humanitarian assistance and reconstruction aid for Aceh in order to avoid expanding a budget deficit that is already expected to surpass earlier estimates of Rp 26.3 trillion for 2004.
The financial burden of addressing a disaster that official estimates indicate will eventually result in a death toll of up to 40,000 and half a million homeless is a huge blow for a government committed to reach economic growth of 5.5 percent next year. The government expects the economy this year to grow by 5.0 percent.
Dealers expect the dollar to trade between Rp 9,325 and Rp 9,375 on Thursday.