Rupiah steady against dollar, shares down
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)