Indonesian share prices closed 0.3 percent higher for a fourth straight day on Friday but the main index lost most of its early gains on profit-taking in late trade, dealers said. The Jakarta Composite Index closed up 7.49 points at 2,349.27, off a high of 2,362.79. For the week, the index gained 2.0 percent.
Volume was 4.69 billion shares worth 9.96 trillion rupiah (1.08 billion dollars). Advancers led decliners 109 to 82, while 52 stocks were unchanged. The rupiah was trading at 9,190/9,195 to the US dollar, unchanged from late Thursday.
Paulus Thomas, a dealer at Batavia Prosperindo, said following the extended rally recently, "investors do not seem to have enough confidence on the market's outlook".
He said this was partly caused by fears that the oil price spike could eventually make a negative impact on the economy. Thomas said he expects the main index to move within a range of 2,300-2,400 in the coming weeks. He said the next catalysts for the stock market's performance would be first-quarter earnings, with investors anticipating some sectors to report robust earnings growth.
A number of companies are expected to start announcing their earnings next week. Among the gainers, gold and nickel miner Antam gained 3.7 percent to 3,550 rupiah after its shareholders approved a plan to acquire Australian mining company Herald Resources.
Antam is competing with coal giant Bumi Resources for the Herald acquisition. Bumi rose 3.9 percent to 6,650. Some big-cap banks were also higher in a technical rebound. Bank Rakyat Indonesia gained 4.2 percent to 6,250, Bank Central Asia rose 3.2 percent to 3,250 and Bank Danamon added 0.8 percent to 6,000. Bucking the trend, index heavyweight Telkom lost 1.1 percent to 9,100 and rival Indosat fell 2.3 percent to 6,500.