Rupiah steady against dollar, shares down
JAKARTA (JP): The rupiah survived the first trading day of the new year almost unchanged against the U.S. dollar, but only after falling to an intraday day low of 8,100, while stock prices weakened slightly, currency dealers and stockbrokers said.
Currency dealers said that the rupiah, which opened the day at 8,000 against the dollar, became the target of fresh speculation by Singapore operators who bought dollars on fears of escalating violence in the country, especially in Aceh.
"Singapore operators were on the buying side due to political uncertainties at home," a chief dealer with a joint venture bank said.
Dealers said that offshore market participants were greatly concerned by increasing violence in the country.
Thousands of Indonesian troops clamped down on the rebellious province of Aceh on Monday after a weekend of violence in which security officers shot dead a number of civilians in response to an attack on government buildings the previous day.
The rupiah staged a recovery later in the day, rising to close at 7,925 against the American dollar after Bank Indonesia stepped into the market to prevent the local currency from falling any further, dealers said.
"Certain state banks unloaded dollars onto the market," the dealer said, pointing out that the measure had a positive impact on the market.
Dealers said, however, that trading volume had subsided, with many market participants yet to reenter the fray after the yearend holiday.
Dealers said that the beleaguered rupiah was the only currency to fall against the American dollar on Monday. Other major regional and world currencies gained ground in the wake of the soft introduction of the euro.
Meanwhile, share prices on the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) slipped nearly 1 percent, with the benchmark price index falling 3.57 points to 394.46 on a total turnover of 61.35 million shares valued at Rp 69.61 billion (US$8.74 million).
Losers led gainers by 72 to 26, with shares in 61 companies remaining unchanged.
Stockbrokers attributed the decline in share prices to the absence of foreign investors in the local market and a general fall in other regional equities markets.
"Investors were still on holiday," said Vonny Juwono, an institutional sales broker with Trimegah Securindolestari.
Brokers said that trading volume remained thin and that investors had seen little to tempt them to reenter the local battered market after the new year festivities.
"I think investors have yet to return to the local market because they have still not found any positive leads," research director of Mashill Jaya Securities Edhi S. Widjojo said on Monday.
Brokers said that most brokerage offices were still half empty on Monday, with many traders and investors still on holiday.
Vonny said that the fall in the local market was also the result of the general decline in other regional equities markets.
Stockbrokers said that although several blue chip stocks rose on Monday, such program buying would be unable to pull the main price index into making positive gains.
The share price of cigarette maker Gudang Garam surged by Rp 350 to Rp 12,000 on a turnover of 284,000 shares, state- telecommunication PT Telkom rose by Rp 50 to Rp 2,750 on 4.67 million shares traded and pulp and paper producer PT Tjiwi Kimia rose by Rp 50 to Rp2,125 on a turnover of 2.41 million shares. (aly)