Stock exchange index gains 20 points in a week
Stock exchange index gains 20 points in a week
JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta Stock Exchange was seen trading in a narrow range of between 491 and 493 in the early part of last week, but rebounded significantly after the holiday closing on Wednesday to the 504 level on Thursday.
The JSX Composite Index closed the week at 512.79, up by 20.46 points (4.2%) from the last week's opening of 492.33.
The new capital market law on lending and borrowing securities, to be implemented next month, coupled with other new capital market regulations, gave confidence to investors trading through the JSX. The law is anticipated to enhance liquidity of the bourse.
The trimming of the discount rate by 25 basis points by the U.S. Federal Reserve boosted the overall market sentiment at the end of last week.
Two telecommunications companies, Telkom and Indosat, which are listed on the NYSE, saw substantial increases in their share prices, although there were no significant changes in the fundamentals of the companies. Telkom's price rose by 7.5 percent to Friday's close of Rp 2,875, after touching the highest level at Rp 2,950. Indosat rose by 9.6 percent to Rp 8,575 during the week. Overall, the market remained active on the last day of trading before the Christmas holiday, partly as a result of a year-end window dressing effort to boost prices.
Trading activities this week are expected to be moderate with only three days of trading, as the JSX will be closed for Christmas and on Friday. The market is anticipated to continue to fluctuate within a narrow trading range of between 505 and 510.
Foreign-triggered buying remained mostly in heavily capitalized and liquid stocks. Counters which saw active trading include Telkom, Indosat, HM Sampoerna, Gudang Garam, Indah Kiat, Semen Gresik, Matahari, Darya Varia, Mayora, BDNI, BII, Lippo Bank, Gadjah Tunggal, Indocement and Smart.
Local players' activities continued to be concentrated on big- capitalized and speculative stocks. Counters which were actively traded included Telkom, Indosat, Indah Kiat, Barito Pacific, CMNP, Lippo Bank, Dharmala Intiland, Bimantara Citra, Duta Anggada, Smart, PSP, Perdana Bangun Pusaka and Rig Tenders.
Average daily turnover on the regular board increased to 26.2 million shares worth Rp 77.2 billion (US$33.5 million) from 27.7 million shares worth Rp 70.4 billion in the previous week. Last week's total turnover also increased to 254.1 million shares valued at Rp 692.6 billion from 236.6 million shares worth Rp 646.4 billion in the previous week.
Some of the best performers last week were HM Sampoerna (up Rp 1,600), Gudang Garam (up Rp 1,300), Indofood SM (up Rp 1,250), BII (up Rp 800) and Indosat (up Rp 750). The biggest losers were Unilever (down Rp 775), Tembaga Mulia (down Rp 500), Mulia Industrindo (down Rp 400), Lionmesh and Sekar Bumi (each down Rp 300). Losers outnumbered gainers by 64 to 63, while 34 counters remained unchanged.
-- Sigma Batara