Jakarta shares sag

Indonesian share prices closed 0.68 percent lower on Tuesday on profit-taking in the blue chips as the rupiah continued to slide against a strengthening dollar, dealers said. The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index was down 7.714 points at 1,131.168, on volume of 1.14 billion shares worth 918.23 billion rupiah (93.72 million dollars.) Decliners led advancers 88 to 29, with 64 stocks unchanged.
The rupiah was at 9,875/9,885 to the dollar, compared to Monday's level of 9,850/9,860. It traded at 9,885/9,895 to the dollar in the afternoon, as it tracked declines in other regional currencies, foreign exchange dealers said.
Bank Indonesia was seen intervening to halt the rupiah's slide, they added.
"At 3.00 pm, the rupiah almost fell through the 9,900 mark and there was rumours it was heading for 10,300, so people began to take profits and others followed suit," said Buana Capital analyst Hendra Sunarto.
He said that, aside from blue chips, second liners like Bank Lippo were also lower on profit-taking.
"It's actually natural that people sell, considering that last time (last Friday) the market rose by 16 points," he said.
For Wednesday, he expected the market to fall again, with a support level of around 1,100 points and noted the rupiah's immediate outlook to remain bleak.
Telkom was down 50 rupiah at 5,200 rupiah on extended profit-taking, Indosat was down 50 rupiah at 5,600 rupiah, Astra International was down 100 rupiah at 12,700 rupiah while Indofood was down 10 rupiah at 1,120 rupiah.
Profit-taking also hit banking stocks. Bank Mandiri was down 40 rupiah at 1,500 rupiah, Bank Rakyat Indonesia was down 100 rupiah at 2,925 rupiah, Bank Central Asia was down 50 rupiah at 3,525 rupiah, Bank Danamon was down 50 rupiah at 5,100 rupiah and Bank Lippo was down 10 rupiah at 1,240 rupiah.
The index's fall was limited by foreign interest in selective stocks.
Gas distributor Perusahaan Gas Negara was up 100 rupiah at 3,175 rupiah, Unilever was up 75 rupiah at 4,275 rupiah, Gudang Garam was up 50 rupiah at 12,750 rupiah and Medco Energi was up 25 rupiah to close at 3,775 rupiah.