Jakarta Index And Rupiah Down

Jakarta, Nov 8 (Antara) - The Jakarta composite share price index close 0.21 percent lower on Friday on absence of positive sentiment. The index of the Indonesian Stock Exchange (BEI) fell 9.39 points to 4,476.72 points with index of 45 most liquid stocks down 0.35 percent to 749.58 points. Investors tend to sell shares on uncertainty over the Fed`s decision on monetary stimulus, Ahmad Sujatmiko, an analyst of PT Pefindo said. Ahmad predicted the BEI index would hover around 4,450 - 4,500 points on Monday. There were 143,691 transaction on Friday involving 3.617 billion shares worth Rp4.491 trillion with decliners outnumbering gainers by 165 to 81 and with 117 shares remaining flat. Regional markets such as Hang Seng recorded a 0.6 percent fall in index to 22,744.39 points with Nikkei-225 index down 1 percent to 14,086.80 points and that of Straits Times declining 0.78 percent to 3,177.25 points. Meanwhile the national currency rupiah lost 22 points against the US dollar to close at 11,417 per dollar on Friday. PT Platon Niaga Berjangka`s analyst Lukman Leong said the currency is still under pressure and would likely to fall lower on Monday. There would be no new negative sentiment but the country`s latest economic data caused doubt about the economic performance, Lukman said. He said, however, there should be no cause for much concern about the rupiah volatility as long as Bank Indonesia is still ready with its protection. Financial market analyst Renny Eka Putri from Bank Mandiri said deficit in the country`s trade balance and economic slowdown still have their effect on rupiah. "Investors would continue to monitor the country`s trade performance and economic growth," Renny said.