Jakarta shares finished lower on Monday as investors decided to cash in on recent strong gains in the market with a lengthy holiday period approaching, traders said. The Jakarta Composite Index fell 0.55 percent to 888.74 points in trade of an estimated 841.14 billion rupiah ($94 million), moderate by recent standards. The index had gained by nearly 30 percent this year before Monday's fall.
"The market fell ahead of long holidays. Investors who would need the money for holidays will have to cash in either today or tomorrow at the latest," a local trader said.
It typically takes three days to collect from share sales.
"However, the potential for the index to hit the 900 mark remains open," the trader added.
The Jakarta Stock Exchange will be closed for the entire next week for the celebration of the Muslim Eid-ul-Fitr holiday. It will reopen on November 22.
Among the decliners were PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk, which lost 0.54 percent of its value to close at 4,625 rupiah.
Indonesia'a largest lender, PT Bank Mandiri Tbk, fell 2.99 percent to 1,625 rupiah.
Bucking the overall trend, the country's largest automotive distributor PT Astra International Tbk jumped 1.23 percent to 8,250 rupiah after the company obtained around $236 million in loans last week from foreign banks, aimed at helping refinance debt.
The news provided Astra shares with more positive sentiment after the company also posted robust nine-month results late last month.
Indonesia's rupiah currency was being quoted at 8,975/8,985 to the dollar compared to Friday's levels of 9,045/9,070.
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