Jakarta stocks ended at a two-week high on Wednesday, inspired by gains in regional bourses, but the outlook was overshadowed by domestic political uncertainty due to a long election process.
Dealers said some blue chips rose, boosted by bargain hunting by foreign investors, especially in the telecommunications and banking sectors.
But they predicted the index would hover around the current level in the near term while investors waited for a presidential election run-off on September 20.
"This is tiring. We have to keep waiting until there is a certainty on the political front," said Bambang Setiadi, a portfolio manager at Sinarmas Sekuritas. The composite index rose 4.57 points or 0.6 percent to close at 761.24 points. Turnover was modest at around 968.9 billion rupiah ($107.5 million) but 42 percent of the total was from other types of transactions such as crossed and negotiated trades. Gainers led losers 54 to 34 while 84 shares were unchanged.
"The index is relatively flat today. Some banking stocks are active and Telkom rose, both on foreign investor buying. Foreign investors are active today," said a local dealer.
Telecom bellwether PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk (Telkom) rose 1.95 percent to 7,850 rupiah. It was the most active stock traded in terms of value. Its competitor PT Indonesian Satellite Corp Tbk climbed 2.4 percent to 4,275 rupiah. The country's fifth-largest bank PT Bank Danamon Tbk gained 2.38 percent to 3,225 rupiah. Indonesia's biggest bank PT Bank Mandiri Tbk advanced two percent to end at 1,250 rupiah.