Stocks unlikely to move up in coming week: Analyst
Stocks unlikely to move up in coming week: Analyst
Agence France-Presse, Jakarta
The Jakarta stock market is unlikely to recover lost ground in the coming week after slumping more than four percent in the past week, an analyst said on Friday.
Kuo Capital Raharja Securities analyst Edwin Sinaga said he expected the market to move sideways in the coming week due to concerns about possible violence before the start of election campaigning on March 11.
"The market is somewhat worried about the potential for violence during next month's campaign period. I expect these concerns to carry over until next week and these could prompt investors to move sideways," he said.
"If there is a rise, it will not be significant since it will probably be caused by a technical rebound," Sinaga said.
The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed Friday at 761.081, down 33.386 points or 4.2 percent from the previous Friday.
Average daily volume was 3.3 billion shares worth Rp 1.39 trillion (US$164.9 million) compared with 4.9 billion shares worth Rp 1.5 trillion the previous week.
Meanwhile, other Asian stock markets gained ground Friday on a mixture of corporate, economic and political news as investors ignored Wall Street's mixed performance.
There was no single factor which prompted investors in Asia to buy, but most of the region's major markets finished the day higher after recent positive corporate results and economic data.
A number of upcoming elections in Asia also led to buying.
Japanese share prices closed 2.10 percent higher as robust industrial output and spending data boosted sentiment while a firmer dollar eased concerns a strong yen could hurt exporters.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange's Nikkei-225 index hit a five-week high, up 226.63 points at 11,041.92, closing above the 11,000 mark for the first time since January 23. The broader Topix index of all first section shares gained 22.44 points or 2.12 percent to 1,082.47.
"Investors interpreted the upbeat January industrial output data to mean that Japan's economic recovery remains on a steady path and reacted to the data by putting money into domestic demand-related stocks," said Nagayuki Yamagishi, senior strategist at UFJ Tsubasa Securities.
Japan's industrial output in January rose 3.4 percent from December and was up 5.0 percent from a year earlier, the trade ministry said Friday.
Retail figures chugged along in recent releases, raising hopes the sector that has lagged behind manufacturers in the current economic expansion cycle may be crawling out of a long slump.
Spending by salaried workers' households in January rose 3.4 percent in real terms from a year earlier, the third straight monthly increase, the government said Friday.
This follows bullish data released Thursday showed January retail sales rose 1.3 percent year on year, the first rise in three months, which prompted the government to say the retail sector is now showing "signs of recovery".
In Hong Kong shares closed higher as investors snapped up property stocks after developer Sun Hung Kai Properties received a strong response to its new housing project.
The key Hang Seng Index closed up 232.39 points, or 1.70 percent.
Sun Hung Kai Properties soared 3.00 dollars to 76.50. The developer pocketed some 700 million dollars from sales of 300 units at the soft launch of its new housing project at Waterloo Road in Kowloon, which was priced at a fairly high 4,000 dollars per square foot, dealers said.
"Although property developers have cut commissions payable to real estate agencies, the absorption of primary residential flats remains fast," said Eric Yuen, analyst at Dao Heng Securities.
Singapore share prices closed flat in muted trading as the market shifted its attention to Finance Minister Lee Hsien Loong's 2004 budget speech to parliament.
The Straits Times Index closed down 0.07 points to 1,888.63, while the broader All Singapore Equities Index rose 1.90 points to close at 511.72.
"There were no big surprises from the budget," a dealer with a local brokerage said.
"Economic figures from January have been strong, so it seems the government sees no need to introduce economic relief or stimulus packages. Investors may actually take this as a good sign -- that the economic recovery is on track."