Jakarta share prices closed 1.33 percent higher on Monday at a new all-time high, with sentiment boosted by the better-than-expected June consumer price index data (CPI), dealers said. The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed up 28.542 points at 2,167.820 on volume of 3.61 billion shares valued at 3.81 trillon rupiah (422.39 million dollars).
The previous all-time closing high was at 2,161.073 points, set on June 20. Gainers led decliners 150 to 44, with 49 stocks unchanged. The rupiah was trading at 9,010/9,020 to the dollar, compared to 9,045/9,055 late Friday. CPI in June inched up by a minimal 0.23 percent from May and was up 5.77 percent year-on-year, with the drop in clothing prices limiting the rise, Central Bureau of Statistics deputy chairman Pietojo said.
Economists polled had expected the June CPI to show a month-on-month rise of 0.19-0.4 percent and a year-on-year increase of 5.77-6.0 percent. Batavia Prosperindo analyst Santikno Suherman said the better-than-expected June CPI helped lift sentiment in the broader market.
"The market's rise happened across the board, which I think, indicates that our market's bull run is not over yet," Suherman said, noting that gains were helped by an influx of liquidity into the stock market as funds shifted some of their money away from banks. Bank deposit rates have been declining due to the fall in Bank Indonesia's benchmark rate. Bank Rakyat Indonesia rose 200 rupiah or 3.48 percent to 5,950 while Bank Mandiri added 75 or 2.4 percent to 3,200.
Shares in the country's biggest coal miner, Bumi Resources, rose 175 rupiah or 7.69 percent to 2,450 and rival Bukit Asam, added 200 rupiah or 3.05 percent to 6,750. Bumi said it sold 28.5 million tons of coal in the first half this year, up 23.37 percent from the previous year. Suherman said investors had also chased coal stocks in the hope that the industry's second quarter results will improve on the back of higher coal prices.
Shares in the country's biggest telephone company, Telkom, gained 50 rupiah to 9,900 after its shareholders approved the distribution of a final dividend of 254.755 rupiah per share for 2006. Rival Indosat added 250, or 3.85 percent, to 6,750. State gas distributor Perusahaan Gas Negara rose 100 rupiah to 9,550 and car assembly Astra International was up 150, or 0.89 percent, at 17,050.