Jakarta share prices closed 0.59 percent lower on Thursday for a second straight day of losses as investors continued to take profit in big caps that had seen recent gains, dealers said. They said trade turned thin and cautious as players await the outcome of the US Federal Reserve's ongoing two-day meeting, which ends tonight.
The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed down 12.487 points at 2,112.851 on volume of 2.99 billion shares worth 2.82 trillion rupiah (310.57 million dollars).
Declines led advances 127 to 53, while 57 stocks were unchanged. The LQ45 index dropped 2.633 points to 437.767.
The rupiah was trading at a firmer 9,075/9,080 to the dollar, compared to 9,115/9,125 late Wednesday. Kuo Capital analyst Arif Sigita said that because of a lack of positive leads, the market extended its correction after the index touched an all-time high on June 20.
He said sentiment was also undermined by the government's announcement earlier this week that it has raised its 2007 budget deficit forecast to 1.6 percent of GDP, from the initial estimate of 1.1 percent, due to lower revenues.
On the corporate front, Sigita said investors were also uncertain about the implementation of Perusahaan Gas Negara's (PGN) decision to hike its gas price by 10 percent in August after a government official recently said such a plan needs prior approval from the government.
PGN dropped 100 rupiah or 1.0 percent to 9,550. Added downward pressure came from index heavyweight Telkom, which lost 50 to 9,700, amid lingering concerns about tighter competition in the cellular telecom segment, which has hurt the firm's first-quarter result.
Telkom rival Indosat also lost 150 or 2.22 percent to 6,600. Among other losers were Citra Marga, the country's second largest toll road operator, which gave up 125 or 4.6 percent to 2,575 after its shareholders rejected a proposed stock split Wednesday.
Bucking the broader market's fall was the country's biggest cement maker, Semen Gresik. Gresik rose 800 or 1.7 percent to 48,800 after its shareholders approved a 2006 dividend payout and a planned 10-for-1 stock split.
Another cement stock, Holcim Indonesia, gained 30 rupiah or 3.4 percent to 920, fuelled by hopes of better earnings with cement demand - robust in the first five months to May - expected to remain strong in the second half.
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