Jakarta share prices closed 0.4 percent lower on Thursday as investors moved to cash in gains after the market's strong rally a day earlier, dealers said. The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed down 8.71 points at 2,304.63, off a high of 2,331.04 and a low of 2,303.83. Volume was 5.35 billion shares valued at 4.87 trillion rupiah (531.37 million dollars).
Losers outnumbered gainers 112 to 77, with 67 stocks unchanged. The Indonesian rupiah was trading at 9,155/9,165 to the US dollar, or up 0.7 percent from trade late Wednesday. "I would say the market's fall today (Thursday) was purely due to profit-taking after it jumped by more than 3 percent yesterday. This should be a healthy correction," Paramitra Alfa Sekuritas analyst Miranda Hotmadia said.
Miners such as nickel and gold producer Antam, nickel miner Inco and coal producer Bumi Resources extended their recent gains on the rise in commodity prices.
Antam added 50 rupiah to 2,700 and Inco edged up 50 to 64,000, off a high of 65,100, while tin miner Timah was up 50 at 12,350. Gas distributor Perusahaan Gas Negara lost 150 to 10,600 and automotive company Astra International edged down 50 to 19,100. Index heavyweight Telkom fell 250 to 11,000 and Indosat lost 200 to 7,050.
Banking stocks were mixed, with Bank Mandiri down 50 at 3,350, Bank Rakyat Indonesia adding 150 to 6,550 and Bank Central Asia flat at 6,200, after rising to 6,350. Hotmadia noted that Barito Pacific, which recently decided to switch its core business to mining from timber, surged in late afternoon trade on speculation that the company was in talks to acquire other mining companies. Barito Pacific surged 675 to 3,175.