Jakarta stocks booked sharp gains on Tuesday, boosted by selective blue chip buying after some companies reported their 2003 earnings.
Dealers said a continued technical rebound also contributed to the overall positive sentiment on Tuesday, although trading remained cautious as players took a wait-and-see approach ahead of the parliamentary election scheduled on April 5.
The composite index, which hit a near three-month low on Friday, rose 1.83 percent or 13.14 points to close at 730.06 points on Tuesday in light turnover estimated at 695.5 billion rupiah ($80.9 million).
Advancers led decliners 65 to 38 and 78 issues were flat.
Among the biggest blue chips gainers were leading auto distributor PT Astra International Tbk, rising 3.9 percent to 5,350 rupiah, in anticipation of a robust 2003 earnings report. Dealers said the company was expected to release its financial results on Wednesday.
Telkom, the largest firm by market value on the Jakarta bourse, gained 3.8 percent to 6,900 rupiah.
The country's leading cigarette maker PT Gudang Garam Tbk climbed 1.96 percent to 13,000 rupiah despite reporting a 24.1 percent fall in fourth-quarter net profit.
Sampoerna ended down 2.2 percent at 4,475 rupiah.
The country's fourth-largest bank PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia Tbk jumped 5.2 percent to 1,525 rupiah on expectations of strong 2003 financial results.
After the market closed, the bank said its 2003 net profit rose to 2.5 trillion rupiah from 1.5 trillion in 2002, higher than analysts forecast.
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