Jakarta share prices closed flat on Friday with the main index clawing back lost early ground on the back of late buying in large caps, including Astra International, dealers said. They said support for a number of laggards like cement maker Holcim Indonesia and retailer Ramayana, along with newly listed Media Nusantara Citra, also helped shore up the benchmark index.
The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed down 0.019 points at 2,152.321, off an intraday low of 2,135.673 and a high of 2,156.969. Over the week, the index gained 31.681 points or 1.5 percent. Volume was 5.77 billion shares worth 4.93 trillion rupiah (547.47 million dollars). Declines led advances 128 to 68, with 58 stocks unchanged.
The LQ45 index rose 0.605 points to 445.469. The rupiah was trading at 9,000/9,005 to the dollar, up slightly from 9,015/9,025 late Thursday. "At the last minute some big caps surprisingly bounced back as a number of foreign houses moved to the buy side. But I do not see any fundamental reason to justify the rebound," Henan Putirai analyst Prayoga Triyono said.
Astra International gained 350 rupiah or 2.1 percent to 16,900 coal miner Bumi Resources rose 125 to 2,225 while index heavyweight Telkom declined 50 to 9,700. Holcim gained 80 or 9.3 percent to 940 while Ramayana added 80 or 7.8 percent to 1,100.
"Valuation wise, Ramaya and Holcim are both lagging behind other stocks while their earnings prospects look positive," Samuel Securities analyst Bimo Haryopamungkas noted. Meanwhile, Media Nusantara rose 40 to 940 on its listing debut. The stock touched an intraday high of 1,220 as some investors opted to take quick profits in the wake of the company's heavily subscribed IPO.
Among losers, nickel miner Antam fell 300 or 2.3 percent to 12,850 and Inco dropped 300 to 55,200 as investors reduced their holdings in response to recent falls in the price of the metal. Nickel has lost 30 percent of its value since May.