Shares up on late buying in Medco, Telkom stake
Shares up on late buying in Medco, Telkom stake
Dow Jones, Jakarta
Indonesian shares ended marginally higher on Friday as late buying in oil and gas producer Medco Energi and a rebound in Telekomunikasi Indonesia erased earlier losses, dealers said.
After staying in negative territory for most of the session, the Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite index ended up 2.74 points, or 0.3 percent at 1,096.93, up from an intraday low of 1,089.69.
"Sharp gains in Medco and Telkom lifted the main index from its low," said a trader with Kuo Capital Securities.
Dealers said overall sentiment, however, remained weak and cautious as lingering concerns over the nation's security in the wake of bomb threats in the capital spurred further profit taking by foreign funds.
Decliners led gainers 62 to 43, with 63 stocks unchanged.
Volume was 1 billion shares valued at Rp 968 billion, compared with 848 million shares valued at Rp 715 billion on Thursday.
Medco jumped 17 percent to Rp 4,000 ahead of its plan to sell a stake of around 40 percent through a secondary offering on the Luxembourg bourse in the second half of this year.
Bellwether Telkom rose 1.1 percent to Rp 4,750 on a rebound after a 0.5 percent fall on Thursday and on expectations that the company will pay a higher 2004 dividend.
Shares in Gudang Garam, the nation's largest cigarette maker, advanced 1.8 percent to Rp 12,200 on further buying after the government Wednesday said it will only raise the minimum retail price of cigarettes by 15 percent, compared with its initial plan of a 20 percent increase.
Garam gained 1.7 percent on Thursday.
On the downside, automotive company Astra International dropped 1.6 percent to Rp 12,450 on profit taking after sharp gains earlier this week.
Bank Mandiri lost 1.3 percent to Rp 1,510 on expectations that the bank's 2005 earnings will be hit by higher non-performing loans. At the end of March, Bank Mandiri's net profit fell 70 percent on year due to higher bad loan provisions.
Dealers said they expect the market to rise on Monday led by followthrough buying in Medco and Telkom.
Meanwhile, the rupiah also closed higher, thanks to Bank Indonesia's steadfastness in defending the local unit, dealers said.
The dollar closed at Rp 9,590, down from its close on Thursday at Rp 9,610.
The greenback rose to an intraday high of Rp 9,655 due to a combination of its global bullishness and local security concerns after the Australian government warned of possible terrorist attacks.
"We continue to receive a stream of credible reporting suggesting that terrorists are in very advanced stages of planning attacks in Indonesia," Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs said in a warning posted on the department Web site.
"Attacks could occur at any time, anywhere in Indonesia and could be directed at any locations known to be frequented by foreigners."
Dealers said that Bank Indonesia unwound dollars to push the greenback lower.
Bank Indonesia chief Burhanuddin Abdullah had said earlier this week that the central bank would continue to intervene in the local foreign exchange market to help the rupiah.
He, however, said that intervention is only a temporary measure, urging the government to boost efforts to make the country a net oil exporter again. He blamed the rupiah's weakness on partly the high oil import bills.
Dealers said the dollar may try to test Rp 9,600 against next week as its global bullishness still looks intact.