Shares end lower; profit-taking in Indosat, Telkom

Shares end lower; profit-taking in Indosat, Telkom

Dow Jones
Jakarta

Indonesian shares ended lower on Tuesday as losses in many Asian
markets spurred investors to continue taking profit in stocks
that gained last week, in particular Indonesian Satellite and
Telekomunikasi Indonesia, dealers said.

"The market consolidated after sharp gains last week," said a
trader with Paramitra Securities.

The Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite Index ended down 3.824
points, or 0.4 percent, at 1026.89, after hitting an earlier high
of 1032.49. The main index hit a record closing high last week on
program buying.

Decliners led gainers 65 to 64, with 69 stocks unchanged.

Volume was 1.6 billion shares valued at Rp 1.3 trillion,
compared with 1.3 billion shares valued at Rp 1.4 trillion on
Monday.

Indosat fell 2.5 percent to Rp 5,900 on a price correction
after rising 6 percent last week. Its rival Telkom ended 0.5
percent lower at Rp 4,825.

Profit-taking hit shares of carmaker Astra International,
which lost 1.5 percent to Rp 10,000, and cement maker Indocement
Tunggal Prakarsa, which dropped 3.1 percent to Rp 3,150.

Bucking the trend, shares of cigarette maker Gudang Garam
gained 0.4 percent to Rp 14,150 and consumer goods producer
Unilever Indonesia rose 0.7 percent to Rp 3,500 on bargain-
hunting.

Dealers said they expect the market to trade lower on
Wednesday led by further profit-taking in Indosat.