Shares close higher as companies with small capitalization gain
Shares close higher as companies with small capitalization gain
Agencies, Jakarta
Indonesian shares ended higher in volatile trading on Wednesday as investors continued to chase companies with small market capitalization, dealers said.
However, some investors took the opportunity to lock in profit, capping the market's gains, they added.
The Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite Index ended up 3.013 points, or 0.3 percent, at 1102.93 point, after moving between 1092.43 and 1108.92 during the day.
Gainers led decliners 83 to 66, with 84 stocks unchanged.
Volume was 2.7 billion shares versus 2.6 billion on Tuesday, with value unchanged at Rp 1.9 trillion.
"I think investors wanted to use the momentum to push the index even higher toward 1150 before a major correction takes place," a dealer was quoted by Dow Jones.
Car maker Indomobil rose 8.9 percent to Rp 860, while Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII) added 5.1 percent to Rp 205.
Tin miner Timah rose 1.2 percent to Rp 2,100, retailer Matahari edged up 3.1 percent to Rp 660, and supermarket operator Hero Supermarket added 10 percent to Rp 3,300.
Indonesia Satellite (Indosat) rose 0.9 percent to Rp 5,500, whereas its larger rival Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) closed flat at Rp 4,650.
Profit-taking hit the nation's largest lender Bank Mandiri, which dropped 1 percent to Rp 1,900, and Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), which fell 0.6 percent to Rp 1,680.
Dealers expect more profit-takers to enter the market on Thursday, which could drag the main index lower.
Meanwhile, the rupiah fell for the second day in three on speculation importers bought dollars to cover overseas transactions after crude oil prices rose above $51 a barrel in New York.
It slid 0.5 percent to 9,247 against the dollar.
The currency on Wednesday was the fourth-worst performer among 15 Asia-Pacific currencies tracked by Bloomberg data.
Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest oil producer, imports about a fifth of its oil-product needs a year to meet domestic demand.
"Corporates bought dollars as they anticipate oil prices will go higher," said Hary Cahyati, currency trader at PT Bank Negara Indonesia, the country's third-largest lender.