Shares weakened last week

JAKARTA (JP): The market weakened slightly last week as most investors avoided the secondary market and focused on the Telkom IPO that started last Friday.

The index dropped gradually from Monday to Friday by 5.97 points (down 1.19 percent) from 500.44 to 494.47.

Tambang Timah still dominated transaction activity last week as local investors were seen cutting losses which increased selling pressure.

It reached a low of Rp 2,400 on Wednesday before rebounding to close the week at Rp 2,550. Japfa and Anwar Sierad were active, being bought mostly by local investors, who thought the shares had been oversold.

Astra International and Gadjah Tunggal continued to be active although their prices received some selling pressure from profit taking action.

Lippo Land received attention as the government announced a new regulation allowing new factories to be built in Java only in industrial estates.

The market will most likely remain weak until the listing of Telkom, although some selective buying may be seen at some counters that report good nine months result.

Local players were bargain hunting in selective stocks. They were active in Timah, Anwar Sierad, Japfa, Astra International, SMART, and Dharmala Sakti Sejahtera.

Foreign investors were mostly on the selling side. They were active in BDNI, Semen Gresik, Darya Varia, Kalbe Farma, HM Sampoerna, and Gudang Garam.

Average daily turnover on the regular board decreased to 20.6 million shares worth Rp 58.4 billion (US$25.6 million) compared to 34.3 million shares worth Rp 97.8 billion (US$42.9 million) in the previous week.

Total turnover for the week also decreased to 169.4 million shares valued at Rp 575.0 billion (US$251.8 million) from 269.7 million shares valued at Rp 816.1 billion (US$357.6 million) in the previous week.

Some of the best performers last week were Modernland (up Rp 700), Mulia Industrindo (up Rp 475), Kedaung Indah (up Rp 400), Bank Bira (up Rp 325), and Ciputra Dev. (up Rp 275).

The biggest losers were HM Sampoerna (down Rp 1,400), Unilever (down Rp 1,000), Kalbe Farma (down Rp 775), Tempo Scan (down Rp 375), and Tjiwi Kimia (down Rp 350). Gainers outnumbered losers by 53 to 63, while 43 counters remained unchanged.

-- Sigma Batara