Indonesian share prices closed 1.3 percent lower on Thursday amid a heavy sell-off in Asia following a slide on Wall Street, dealers said. The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed down 35.75 points at 2,678.22, off a low of 2,640.15.
Trading volume was 5.33 billion shares worth 7.5 trillion rupiah (825 million dollars). The Indonesian rupiah was trading at 9,130/9,135 to the dollar compared to 9,117/9,123 late Wednesday.
"It was weakness across Asia after Wall Street's decline overnight that pushed down our market today," said Christine Salim, Samuel Sekuritas head of research. "The composite index however managed to rebound slightly in late afternoon, thanks to gains in select resources stocks," she said. She expects the market to consolidate over the next few days given volatility in the global equity markets.
Index heavyweight Telkom fell 200 rupiah to 11,400 and rival Indosat dropped 150 to 8,350. Indonesia's largest bank by assets, Bank Mandiri, fell 175 to 3,400. Bank Central Asia fell 250 to 7,000 and Bank Rakyat Indonesia lost 300 to 7,950.
Gas distributor Perusahaan Gas Negara declined 200 to 14,450, coal producer Bumi Resources lost 50 to 5,150, off a low of 4,950, and Bukit Asam gave up 100 to 10,850.
Miners were in favour. Nickel and gold miner Antam rose 175 to 4,050, oil and gas producer Medco gained 325 to 5,600, tin miner Timah rose 400 to a new all-time high of 24,400, and nickel miner Inco added 2,900 to 105,500. Plantation stocks were mixed. London Sumatra was up 750 at 11,000, Bakrie Sumatra added 75 to 2,150, while Astra Agro dropped 50 to 23,750. Indonesian electronics company Sat Nusapersada surged 60 to 640 on its trading debut.