Share prices plunge on political fears

Share prices plunge on political fears

JAKARTA (JP): Share prices on the Jakarta Stock Exchange
plunged 2.5 percent yesterday as President Soeharto issued a
strong warning to campus protesters.

Brokers said that most investors sold their stocks because of
fears that the President's warning would fuel more campus
demonstrations, which have been taking place at all of
Indonesia's major universities since before the House of
Representatives elected Soeharto to a seventh consecutive five-
year term in office in March.

"The President's order to the military to curb any attempt to
undermine national stability suggests that the Armed Forces might
use force to suppress the demonstrations. It could worsen
political tension," one analyst said.

The Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite Index lost 2.5 percent,
closing at 448.52 in a moderate trading yesterday, down from
460.13 on Thursday.

Trading volume dropped to 310 million shares valued at Rp 359
billion from 431 million shares valued at Rp 595 billion on
Thursday.

Rupiah remained weak, closing at 8,000 rupiah per U.S. dollar
in the spot market, almost unchanged from the previous day's.

The rupiah rose to 7,975 in early trading but weakened in the
afternoon on fears of worsening political tension.

Many other Asian markets were closed for the May Day holiday.

In Hong Kong, shares prices rose sharply both in Hong Kong and
Australia in reaction to overnight gains on Wall Street, AP
reported.

The Hang Seng Index, the Hong Kong market's key indicator of
blue chips, rose 180.00 points, or 1.7 percent, closing at
10,563.68. On Thursday, the index had lost 87.47 points.

Brokers said the Hong Kong market was boosted by overnight
gains on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones industrial average rose
111.85 points to close at 9,063.37.

In Australia the All Ordinaries Index rose 42.1 points, or 1.5
percent, to 2,804.2.

In Tokyo, Japanese stock prices slipped in subdued trading
ahead of a four-day holiday weekend in Japan.

The benchmark Nikkei Stock Average of 225 selected issues shed
40.16 points, or 0.26 percent, closing the week at 15,601.10
points. On Thursday, the index rose 245.83 points, or 1.60
percent.

In New Zealand, share prices closed slightly lower, drifting
downwards after a strong start to the session on the back of good
finishes in the U.S. and Britain's share markets.

The NZSE-40 Capital Index fell 3.25 points, or 0.1 percent, to
2,253.29.

The markets were closed for May Day celebrations in the
Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and
Thailand. (hen)