Indonesian share prices closed 1.06 percent lower on Wednesday amid profit-taking, with sentiment hurt by a fall on Wall Street overnight, dealers said. The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed down 19.268 points at 1,800.392, on volume of 2.5 billion shares worth 2.74 trillion rupiah (299.39 million dollars).
Decliners led advancers 100 to 52, while 58 stocks were unchanged. The rupiah was trading at 9,147/9,152 to the dollar against 9,118/9,123 late Tuesday. Norico Gaman, an analyst with BNI Securities, said he was surprised by the extent of the sell-off, especially after upbeat comments by the statistics bureau chief about a pullback in consumer inflation.
Among the losers, tin miner Timah lost 500 rupiah to 12,400, nickel miner Antam dropped 400 to 11,350 and rival Inco fell 1,100 to 47,000. Index heavyweight Telkom was down 100 at 9,700, Indosat was down 150 at 6,250, Astra International was down 400 at 12,650, Gudang Garam dropped 50 to 10,550 and Perusahaan Gas Negara finished flat at 9,250. Bank Mandiri fell 50 to 2,500, Bank Danamon was down 200 at 6,300, Bank Central Asia was unchanged at 5,150 and Bank Rakyat Indonesia also finished flat at 5,000.
Among gainers, Bimantara ended up 25 rupiah at 4,875, with sentiment boosted by the company's plan divestment plan. The firm said the move was expected to push its net profit above one trillion rupiah this year from 446 billion last year.