Indonesian share prices closed 0.20 percent higher on Monday, recovering from heavy losses thanks to late buying in blue chips which were hammered by fears over US subprime lending problems, dealers said. They said that key gainers included coal giant Bumi Resources, telephone operator Indosat and the country's biggest lender Bank Mandiri.
However, losses in index heavyweight Telkom and Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) capped the market's upside. The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed up 4.06 points at the day's high of 2,211.46, off an intraday low of 2,185.91. Volume was 6.28 billion shares worth 10.83 trillion rupiah (115.89 million dollars).
Gainers led losers 83 to 78, while 64 stocks were unchanged. The rupiah was trading at 9,340/9,345 to the US dollar, compared to 9,335/9,345 late Friday. Much of the volume came from trade in BNI after the company listed an additional 3.47 billion shares from a rights issue and secondary offering that involved part of the government's stake in the bank.
Kuo Capital analyst Arif Sigita said the fact that the main index came off its low today may indicate that the selloffs are overdone but the prospect for further recovery will very much depend on Wall Street's performance. "Let's hope that Wall Street will end positive tonight. That will further underpin a recovery here in coming days," he said.
Bumi Resources gained 75 rupiah or 2.9 percent to 2,625, Indosat rose 250 rupiah or 3.5 percent to 7,340, Bank Mandiri added 50 rupiah or 1.6 percent to 3,225 and Bank Danamon gained 50 rupiah or 0.7 percent to 7,450.
Among other gainers, gas distributor PGN rose 150 rupiah or 1.4 percent to 10,650 and toll road operator Citra Marga increased 75 or 2.9 percent to 2,675 on hopes that the government will hike toll road tariff this month. Meanwhile, Telkom lost 50 rupiah or 0.5 percent to 10,850 and BNI dropped 125 rupiah or 5.9 percent to 2,000.
BNI just resumed trading today after it was suspended since last Wednesday due to the secondary share offering. "When most other banks were under heavy selling pressures last week, BNI was suspended. So, the stock just tracked losses in the other banks," Kuo Capital's Sigita said.
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