Rupiah, stocks end higher

Rupiah, stocks end higher

Dow Jones Jakarta

The rupiah ended slightly higher against the U.S. dollar in thin trading on Friday, taking its cue from regional currencies, dealers said.

The local unit closed at Rp 8,525 per dollar, up from 8,550 in the previous day.

The government's 2004 budget proposal announced earlier Friday was largely ignored as most of the details have already been disclosed.

Instead, most interbank market participants held back from trading amid lingering concerns over possible fresh terrorist attacks during the weekend following last week's bombing outside the J.W. Marriott Hotel, which killed at least 12 people.

Indonesia's police and some countries, including Australia and the U.S., have warned of further attacks in the run-up of Indonesia's 58th anniversary celebration on Sunday.

Trading will be closed also on Monday for a public holiday.

The government also touched on policies it promised to implement after it ends the International Monetary Fund-led bailout program at the end of this year, but dealers said the details were, as usual, sketchy and therefore failed to excite the market.

"It now all depends on whether the government will deliver its promises or not," a dealer said.

Dealers expect the rupiah to trade between 8,500 and 8,570 next week if Indonesia survives the long weekend without any fresh terrorist assault.

Meanwhile, shares also ended higher as investors continued to buy PT Telkom on news it will receive compensation for losing its exclusive right to run fixed-line services, dealers said.

The arrest of alleged terrorist Hambali also spurred buying, dealers added. Hambali is al-Qaeda's purported chief representative in Southeast Asia and is believed to have planned last year's Oct. 12 bombings on the island of Bali.

"Buying wasn't strong, though," said a trader with a European brokerage firm, adding that concerns about possible terrorist attacks during the long weekend prevented investors from taking strong buying positions.

Indonesian markets will be closed Monday for a holiday.

The main index ended up 1.4 percent at 516.65.