Indonesian share prices closed 0.21 percent lower on Wednesday led by Astra International as investors locked in profits ahead of the Christmas-New Year break, dealers said.
They said most investors are opting to hold onto their positions until year-end although some have decided to take profit where possible. The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index fell 2.475 points to 1,160.559 on volume of 935.80 million shares worth 812.29 billion rupiah (82.8 million dollars).
The rupiah was at 9,825/9,835 to the dollar compared with Tuesday's level of 9,863/9,868. Sinarmas Securities analyst Alfiansyah said the market has been relatively quiet over the past few days.
The trend is likely to persist toward the close of the year as investors wind down their activities ahead of the Christmas and year-end break, he said.
"Ahead of the long break people are not going to take risks by building new positions, as any unwanted incidents could happen during the break," Alfiansyah said.
Among Wednesday's losers, car dealer Astra International was down 100 rupiah at 10,150 and Bank Mandiri lost 40 to close at 1,520. Bank Rakyat Indonesia was down 50 at 3,000, Bank Danamon fell 75 to close at 4,800 and Bank Central Asia was down 50 at 3,350. Bucking the trend was Telkom, closing up 50 at 6,050 after its shareholders approved a 5.25 trillion rupiah share buyback program.
Indonesian markets will be closed next Monday and Friday.