Shares end up on bargain-hunting

Shares end up on bargain-hunting

Dow Jones, Jakarta

Indonesian shares ended higher on Friday, with further bargain-hunting in select blue chips pushing the main index higher after a two-session decline, dealers said.

"It's a healthy technical rebound and it shows that the underlying sentiment for the Indonesian shares remains positive," said a trader with Kuo Capital Securities.

Reports of an explosion on the ground floor of the Indonesian Embassy in Paris early Friday didn't much affect sentiment on the local bourse, they added.

The Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite index ended up 5.893 points, or 0.7 percent, at 855.719, after opening 0.4 percent lower on concerns over rising oil prices.

Gainers led decliners 79 to 40, while 92 stocks are unchanged. Volume was 2.1 billion shares valued at Rp 1.2 trillion.

Nickel miner International Nickel Indonesia, or Inco, rose 3.5 percent to Rp 12,000 on bargain-hunting and higher nickel prices.

Cement maker Semen Gresik gained 2.7 percent to Rp 11,350 on a rebound and expectations of higher nine-month earnings.

Bank Permata rose 4.9 percent to Rp 1,075 after the government picked a consortium led by London-based Standard Chartered PLC the winner in the bidding for a 51 percent stake in the bank. Stanchart has teamed up with car maker Astra International for the bid.

Astra shares rose 1.3 percent to Rp 7,650.

Shares of consumer blue chips, however, succumbed to selling pressure as investors widely expect the companies to record lower sales due to higher oil prices.

Consumer goods producer Unilever Indonesia fell 0.8 percent to Rp 3,125 and cigarette maker Gudang Garam ended down 0.4 percent to Rp 12,800.

Dealers said they expect the market Monday to trade slightly higher on a further rebound.