Stock prices almost stable

JAKARTA (JP): Share prices on the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) closed mixed across the board last week, amid generally weak market sentiment.

The JSX Composite Index closed the week at 500.60, falling by only 0.1 points from the week's opening of 500.65.

The market traded through a narrow trading range last week, almost having fallen below the psychological support level of 500 at the close of the preceding week.

Buy-back by foreign investors on selective blue-chips gave little support and failed to boost the market far above the 500 level.

The money market also saw volatile trading of the rupiah on rumors of devaluation and the abolishment of the rupiah trading band. The falling rupiah shook confidence in the equity market, driving foreign investors to the sideline.

Newcomer Perdana Bangun Pusako, sole distributor of Konica, failed to stage an impressive debut, due to a lack of foreign participation. The recovery of the rupiah at the end of the week is likely to improve sentiment over the short term.

Local players were seen active on speculative issues. The counters actively traded by them included SMART, Perdana Bangun Pusako, Gadjah Tunggal, Bimantara, Barito, CMNP, Astra International, Dharmala Intiland, BDNI, Japfa, Surya Hidup Satwa, JIHD and Sinarmas Multi Artha.

Foreign investors were seen taking to the side-lines. They dominated the selling orders in the market. Counters which saw active foreign trading include SMART Corp, Gadjah Tunggal, Indah Kiat, Bimantara, Indosat, Barito, Bakrie Brothers, Astra International, BDNI, Kabel Metal, Indocement and Semen Gresik.

Average daily turnover on the regular board increased to 18.4 million shares in volume from 18.2 million shares in the previous week, but decreased to Rp 53.7 billion (US$23.7 million) in value from Rp 61.8 billion. Last week's total turnover rose to 159.0 million shares in volume from 147.0 million shares in the previous week, but fell to Rp 494.5 billion in value from Rp 546.9 billion.

Some of last week's best performers were Unilever (up Rp 975), Asuransi Bintang (up Rp 600), Prasidha Aneka N. and Sona Topas (each up Rp 500) and Bank Internasional Indonesia (up Rp 350).

The biggest losers were Davomas Abadi (down Rp 475), Telagamas Pertiwi (down Rp 400), Jaya Real Property, Tempo Scan Pacific, and CP Indonesia (each down Rp 300). Losers outnumbered gainers by 50 to 64, while 44 counters remained unchanged.

-- Sigma Batara