Share prices close mixed on Jakarta Stock Exchange

JAKARTA (JP): Share prices on the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) closed mixed across the board, amid highly unpredictable market sentiment.

The JSX composite index closed the week with only a slight rise of 1.41 points, or 0.3 percent, from the week's opening of 502.00.

The market was on a roller-coaster ride last week, with the index reaching a high of 506.91 in the middle of the week, before easing back to the 500 level by the end of the week.

Over 100 companies released their 1995 first-half results during the week, most of which were in line with expectations. However, due to a lack of trading liquidity, the announcements generally failed to excite investors. Rising interest rates over the past 12 months have put a significant burden on the financing costs of the smaller-cap companies.

Trading activities were focused on those companies which had unexpectedly strong first-half 1995 earnings. Bakrie Sumatra Plantation and cooking-oil producer SMART came under the spot- light. While the former rose on rumors of a capital injection from a Dutch bank, the latter fell on very poor first-half results.

Many blamed SMART for the weakened market towards the end of the week. Last Thursday, the day on which SMART released its results, over six million shares changed hands with SMART shares dropping by almost 10%.

This week, there is a likelihood of another narrow trading range.

Local players were seen active on speculative issues last week. The counters which were actively traded by local players included Bakrie Sumatra Plantation, SMART, Mayatexdian, Gadjah Tunggal, Bimantara, BDNI, Indah Kiat, Sekar Laut, Mas Murni, Bank Umum Nasional, Summarecon, Bakrie & Brothers, Ficorinvest, PSP, Rig Tenders, PDFCI, Ganda Wangsa, Perdana Bangun Pusaka and Bank Duta.

Foreign investors were seen taking the side-line. They dominated the selling orders in the market. Counters which saw active foreign trading included SMART Corp, Gadjah Tunggal, Indah Kiat, Bimantara, BDNI, Barito, Sumalindo, Andayani Megah and Matahari Prima Putera.

Average daily turnover on the regular board increased to 21.4 million shares worth Rp 55.8 billion (US$24.6 million) last week from 18.4 million shares worth Rp 53.7 billion in the previous week. Total turnover for the week increased to 175.8 million shares valued at Rp 531.4 billion, from 159.0 million shares valued at Rp 494.5 billion in the previous week.

Some of last week's best performers were Bakrie Sum Plan (up Rp 1,050), HM Sampoerna (up Rp 775), Gudang Garam (up Rp 650), BUN (up Rp 525) and Bank Tamara (up Rp 475). The biggest losers were Sumalindo Lestari (down Rp 600), Tembaga Mulia (down Rp 400), Dynaplast (down Rp 350), SMART Corp. (down Rp 325) and Darya Varia Lab. (down Rp 225). Losers outnumbered gainers by 65 to 58, while 38 counters remained unchanged.

-- Sigma Batara