Indonesian share prices closed flat on Wednesday as window-dressing activity in selected blue chips helped offset the impact of a weaker rupiah, dealers said. The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed down 0.960 points at 1,126.857. Volume was 724.96 million shares worth 710.08 billion rupiah (73.47 million dollars).
The rupiah was at 9,715/9,720 to the dollar, down from Tuesday's level of 9,690/9,700.
"There are several factors that quietened the market down, including the rupiah's weakness and caution ahead of Thursday's US Fed meeting," said Felix Sindunata, an analyst with Pacific Duaribu Investindo.
The market widely expects the Federal funds rate to be raised Thursday by 25 basis points to 3.25 percent.
He said while most people took a wait-and-see stance ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, some people were seen buying up select stocks such as index heavyweight Telkom for window-dressing purposes ahead of the close of the first half period.
Telkom closed 50 rupiah higher at 5,050 and Indosat was flat at 5,600.
Cigarette maker Gudang Garam was flat at 12,750 rupiah and car distributor Astra International was down 100 at 12,800.
Bank Mandiri was down 10 rupiah at 1,510 and Bank Danamon was flat at 5,150. Bank Rakyat Indonesia rose 25 rupiah to 2,900.