Jakarta shares up

Indonesian shares ended 1.3 percent higher on Friday, led by buying in bank, telecommunication and automotive blue chips, dealers said. The Jakarta Composite Index gained 17.02 points to 1,327.43 in moderate trade, helped by gains across Asian markets. "Local sentiment has improved as the regional markets have improved tremendously," analyst John Teja of Ciptadana Securities told AFP.
Bank Rakyat Indonesia climbed 4.5 percent to 4,100 rupiah, while Bank Central Asia advanced 2.9 percent to 2,825 rupiah. Telecommunication company Telkom added 1.5 percent to 6,600 rupiah, while car distributor Astra International jumped 4.4 percent to 13,000 rupiah on its plan to give a dividend of 570 rupiah per share.