Indonesian share prices closed 0.90 percent lower on Thursday after a see-saw session, with the main index giving up all early gains inspired by Wall Street's rebound as investors moved quickly to sell into strength, dealers said.
The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed down 21.23 points at 2,241.40, after hitting a high of 2,298.60 intraday. Volume was 3.68 billion shares worth 2.98 trillion rupiah (320.53 million dollars).
The rupiah was trading at 9,310/9,320 to the US dollar, down from 9,292/9,297 rupiah late Wednesday. NISP Sekuritas analyst Arif Budiman said the turnaround from a strong opening to a weaker close was purely due to profit-taking.
He said the index's gains of over four percent yesterday, coupled with today's opening gains, presented investors with the perfect opportunity to make profits.
"Those who bought shares at very low levels yesterday would have been easily tempted to sell," he said. Among losers, index heavyweight Telkom dropped 150 rupiah or 1.4 percent to 10,900 while rival Indosat fell 50 rupiah or 0.7 percent to 7,300 rupiah.
Other major index movers included Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) and Unilever Indonesia. BRI lost 200 rupiah or 3.2 percent to 6,100 rupiah and Unilever dropped 200 or 2.8 percent to 6,850.
Bucking the weaker trend, cigarette maker Gudang Garam gained 150 rupiah or 1.5 percent to 10,250 and retailer Ramayana added 10 rupiah or 1.0 percent to 1,000 after the company said recently it is still on track to acquire a controlling stake in rival Alfa Retailindo.