Jakarta Index Opens Higher

Jakarta, Dec 1 (Antara) - The Jakarta composite index (JCI) opened slightly higher on Monday amid good expectation of the country`s economic data. The index of the Indonesian Stock Exchange rose 0.49 point or 0.01 percent to 5,150.38 points with the index of 45 most liquid stock up 0.01 percent to 886.45. "Investors are awaiting announcement of inflation data for November 2014 expected to be announced today. The inflation data is a reference of the investors predicting the monetary policy of Bank Indonesia ahead," Head of Research of Valbury Asia Securites Alfiansyah said. Alfiansyah said if the inflation increase in November 2014 is not significant the government is expected to be able to cope with the impact of the recent increase in the subsidized oil fuel (BBNM) prices. Regional markets such as Hang Seng and Straits Times recorded a decline in index but Nikkei gained. Meanwhile, rupiah in interbank transactions on Monday morning lost to the US dollar. The currency traded at the level of 12,250 per dollar in the opening trade on Monday from earlier level of 12,185 . Samuel Sekuritas` economist Rangga Cipta said the rupiah movements was determined by the global sentiment with the rising value of dollar in the global market.