Indonesian shares closed 0.8 percent lower on Tuesday after overnight losses on Wall Street due to fresh fears for the US economy, dealers said. Late buying in some resources and property stocks pared the overall loss, they added.
The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed down 20.09 points at 2,627.95, coming off an intra-day low of 2,604.83. Volume was 2.78 billion shares worth 4.99 trillion rupiah (530.56 million dollars). Decliners led advancers 106 to 73, while 50 stocks were unchanged. The rupiah was trading at 9,395/9,405 to the dollar, compared to 9,380/9,385 late Monday.
Investors appeared more cautious and tried to sell only if they could make some profit, Kusaeri said. "I am afraid many stocks are not approaching their bottom as yet," he said. Index heavyweight Telkom was one of the biggest drivers of the slide. Telkom dropped 200 rupiah to 10,000 rupiah while Indosat fell 150 rupiah to 8,450 rupiah.
Commodity shares were mixed, with some hit by profit-taking. Nickel miner Inco lost 2,900 rupiah to 94,500 rupiah while rival Antam dropped 100 rupiah to 4,900 rupiah. Coal giant Bumi Resources gained 50 to 5,050 and rival Bukit Asam advanced 350 rupiah to 11,350 rupiah. Among other gainers, crude palm oil producer Astra Agro rose 550 rupiah or 2.3 percent to 24,050 rupiah on a positive earnings outlook.