Indonesian share prices closed 2.1 percent lower Monday as a slump in key regional markets prompted investors to lock in gains after last week's strong rally, dealers said. Caution was also evident ahead of the central bank's policy board meeting on interest rates on Tuesday, they added.
The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed down 58.14 points at 2,652.48. Volume was 3.88 billion shares valued at 6.03 trillion rupiah (657.93 million dollars). Decliners led gainers 181 to 25, with 44 stocks unchanged.
The Indonesian rupiah was trading at 9,160/9,165 to the dollar compared to 9,130/9,135 Friday. "The decline in most regional markets, including the Nikkei index and the Hang Seng, prompted investors to unload their holdings, erasing the gains seen in early trade," Mahakarya Artha Securities analyst Willy Sanjaya said.
But given the strong rally last week, today's market fall is a "healthy correction," he said. Index heavyweight Telkom lost 200 rupiah to 11,200 while rival Indosat fell 150 rupiah to 8,500. Indofood, Indonesia's largest noodle maker, dropped 100 rupiah to 2,125 and Unilever Indonesia fell 50 rupiah to 6,650.
The country's largest automotive company, Astra International, lost 1,400 rupiah to 25,150, gas distributor Perusahaan Gas Negara fell 100 rupiah to 14,000 and oil and gas company Medco Energi edged down 50 to 4,675.
Banking stocks were mostly lower. Bank Mandiri fell 100 rupiah to 3,625, Bank Rakyat Indonesia lost 200 rupiah to 8,100 and Bank Negara Indonesia was down 35 rupiah at 1,940.
Nickel miner Inco fell 5,100 rupiah to 100,900, after rising to 112,500, and nickel and gold miner Antam lost 100 to 3,550, off a high of 3,725. Coal producer Bumi Resources was unchanged at 4,750, Bukit Asam, also a coal producer, was down 250 at 9,900, and tin miner Timah dropped 1,000 or 4.6 percent, after having risen to 22,400.