Jakarta Index Down On U.S. Stimulus Tapering

Jakarta, Oct 31(Antara) - The Jakarta composite share price index fell in the opening trade on Thursday on reports that the US central bank`s plan to cut its monetary stimulus faster than expected. The index of the Indonesian Stock Exchange (BEI) fell 41.12 points or 0.90 percent to 4,533.76 points and the index of 45 most liquid stocks down 1.36 percent to 758.59 points. Asian market weakened this morning as the US bond-buying program would be cut earlier than March 2014 as expected earlier, Samuel Sekuritas` analyst Benedictus Agung said on Thursday. The market players are also waiting for third quarter financial performances of listed companies to be published soon, Benedictus said. He said a number of listed companies such as Bank Central Asia (BBCA), real estate company Bumi Serpong Damai (BSDE), and state gas company Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGAS) have recorded better than expected performances. Those falling short of expectation in performance include Jasa Marga (JSMR), Hocim Indonesia (SMCB), Mitra Adiperkasa (MAPI), Sampoerna Agro (SGRO), and Media Nusantara Citra (MNCN). A team of analysts from Mandiri Sekuritas said investors have tended to chose to wait and see the trade and inflation data to be announced on Friday. The team predicted the BEI index would move around 4,550--4,528 points on Thursday Regional markets such as Hang Seng recorded a 0.60 percent fall in index to 23,163.60 points, with Nikkei-225 index down 0.44 percent to 14,436.97, and that of Straits Times weakening 0.37 percent to 3,218.68 points. Meanwhile, rupiah in interbank transactions remained flat in opening trade on Thursday morning against the US dollar. Rupiah traded at the level of 11,178 per dollar in the first minutes of trading unchanged from the previous day`s closing level. "It looks like the wait and see position remains in the financial market," Trust Securities`s chief researcher Reza Priyambada said. Reza, however, noted that rupiah tended to weaken on varying Asian economic data. "In addition , demand for dollar in the country normally is higher toward the end of month," he said. The speculation that the Federal Reserve would cut its monetary stimulus earlier than previously expected would add to the negative sentiment. Samuel Sekuritas` economist Rangga Cipta said the US dollar is expected to continue to gain that rupiah would most likely lose more value against the US currency. "This morning the optimism that the Fed would delay cut in financial stimulus has evaporated," Rangga said. In the country, Bank Indonesia is expected to announce improvement in the country`s balance of payments for the third quarter of this year with deficit around 3.3-3.5 percent of the country`s GDP. "The position of capital and financial account and capital inflows or outflows would also have impact of rupiah," Rangga said.