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Jakarta stocks mixed, Sampoerna gains

JAKARTA: Jakarta shares closed mixed on Monday, with the index pulled into positive territory by late selective buying of some blue chips, dealers said.

Dealers said automotive conglomerate Astra International and cigarette maker H.M. Sampoerna led blue chips gains which helped lift the index after early losses.

The Jakarta composite index closed up 1.70 points or 0.3 percent at 636.37.

Shares in Astra were up 50 rupiah at 3,675 on 16 million shares traded. Reports on Monday said two more prospective buyers of a 40 percent stake in the firm held by the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) had emerged.

Sampoerna rose 1,100 rupiah or seven percent to 16,725 on news a strike had ended at the company's factories.

"Locals bought some blue chips while foreign players still looked cautious on political concerns," one dealer said, adding that some blue chips were undervalued after recent declines.

Another dealer said: "I think Astra is still a good buy. Apart from the stake sale news, the shares' fair value should be around 4,500 rupiah." Shares in benchmark Telkom were down 50 rupiah at 3,825 on 9.7 million shares traded, on Wall Street's sharp fall.

Newly listed brokerage Trimegah Securindo jumped to 5,300 rupiah on its debut, from its IPO price of 2,000 rupiah, but volume was thin at 2.3 million shares traded.

Some 192 companies' shares were traded with losers leading gainers 76 to 45 on turnover estimated 684 billion rupiah.

Trading is expected to slow ahead of the Chinese New Year this week while players are also waiting for a key two-day meeting of donors, which starts on Tuesday, one dealer said.

Players expect a 25-basis-point increase in borrowing costs when the US Federal Reserve's interest-rate setting committee meets this week, but the Fed may be persuaded to tighten by 50 basis points to cool economic growth.

A commission investigating last year's violence in East Timor said former military chief General Wiranto and five top generals should face further investigation. The markety showed little reaction to the news.-Reuters