Wall Street performance buoys JSX

Wall Street performance buoys JSX

JAKARTA (JP): Steady performance in Wall Street and the regional bourses kept the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) from falling below its support level of 450 last week.

The market, however, was seen trading in a narrow range of between 453 and 454 during the week, as investors still maintained a wait-and-see attitude for other leads to indicate a firm direction of the market.

The JSX Composite Index closed the week at 454.69, up 1.55 points (0.34 percent) from the previous week's opening of 453.14.

The end of the week saw trading picking up on the back of domestic investors. Gains however eroded towards the end of the session, as many were cashing out ahead of the Idul Fitri holiday later this week.

Technically, there are indications that the market could be picking up. However, this will need support from foreign investors, which are not expected to come in until after the Idul Fitri holiday. Thus, the market is more likely to maintain its course side ways this week.

Selective buying by local players kept the market from drifting down. Local players were still seen speculating on property sector shares, most of which have become very cheap.

Counters which were actively traded by domestic players last week included Indosat, Pakuwon Jati, Indah Kiat, Indofood, Pan Brothers, Mayatex, BDNI, Duta Anggada, Dharmala Intiland, Lippoland and PSP.

Foreign players were less active last week. Some remained on the sideline despite the up-beat regional performance. Counters which saw active trading for foreigners included Indosat, BDNI, Lippo Bank, Indah Kiat, Bukaka, Gadjah Tunggal, Astra Int'l, Sampoerna, Darya Varia, Duta Anggada, Lippoland, PSP, Indofood, Semen Gresik and Indocement.

Average daily turnover on the regular board decreased to 15.85 million shares worth Rp 43.70 billion (US$19.77 million) last week, as compared to 19.65 million shares worth Rp 58.64 billion in the previous week.

Last week's total turnover also decreased to 140.30 million shares valued at Rp 454.73 billion from 367.72 million shares valued at Rp 839.06 billion in the previous week.

Some of the best performers last week were HM Sampoerna (up Rp 700), Bank Internasional Indonesia and Semen Gresik (up Rp 600 each), Summarecon (up Rp 500) and Indorama (up Rp 450). The biggest losers were Astra Graphia (down Rp 1,850), Tancho Indonesia (down Rp 850), Goodyear (down Rp 600), Aster Dharma (down Rp 525) and Voksel Electric (down Rp 500). Losers outnumbered gainers by 63 to 52, while 31 remained unchanged.

-- Sigma Batara