Indonesian shares close higher

Indonesian shares closed 0.75 percent higher in quiet trade Monday ahead of the long Eid-al-Fitr holiday from Wednesday, dealers said.
The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index added 7.968 points at 1,066.224 on volume of 479.38 million shares worth 728.10 billion rupiah (72.81 million dollars.) Advancers led decliners 48 to 30, with 74 stocks unchanged.
The rupiah was at 10,115/10,125 to the dollar compared to last Friday's level of 10,020/10,025.
"Astra's results were good and that kept the market up," Buana Capital analyst Hendra Sunarto referring to the shares of car dealer Astra International.
Astra reported Friday a 13 percent growth in nine months to September net profit on the back of higher sales, allaying concerns over the impact of the rupiah's drop this year on its earnings.
Sunarto said gains in some regional markets also supported investor sentiment here at home.
Further, a number of mutual funds appeared to have taken advantage of the thin trading volume to buy Bank Rakyat Indonesia and Bank Mandiri shares despite prevailing weak sentiment in the banking sector, he added.
Astra gained 250 rupiah to close at 9,300 rupiah.
State-owned Bank Rakyat Indonesia was up 100 rupiah at 2,450 rupiah, Bank Mandiri gained 20 rupiah to 1,320 rupiah while Bank Central Asia was flat at 3,225 rupiah. Telkom lost 50 rupiah to 5,000 rupiah despite reporting a 19 percent year-on-year growth in nine months net profit earlier Monday.
Sunarto said Telkom's earning results were positive but the stock encountered some difficulty rising from its current levels.
Sister company Indosat lost 25 rupiah to 4,875 rupiah, extending last week's losses following its weak third-quarter earnings.
Cigarette firm Gudang Garam added 150 at 10,200, extending gains from last week after reporting a 7 percent growth in its nine months net profit. Also boosted by positive earning results were Cement maker Semen Gresik which gained 100 to close at 18,700, and consumer goods producer Unilever Indonesia which added 125 to end at 4,375.