BEI INDEX FALLS 0.64 PERCENT EARLY FRIDAY

Jakarta, March 17 (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Composite Stock Price Index (IHSG) at the Indonesian Stock Exchange (BEI) tumbled 8.499 points or 0.64 percent to 1,316.348 on losses of blue chips early Friday following Wall Street slump.

The stock market was dominated by share release actions in the morning trading, following losses in the Wall Street after gaining four days ago.
Investors released shares on profit takings, after the shares surged two days ago, he said.
The market players also waited for the results of the G-20 financial ministers' meeting which discussed efforts to solve the current global economic crisis, he said.
The global financial crisis early this year would get more difficult, he said.
However, there was a hope that the global economic crisis would recede as Citigroup recorded net profits over the two consecutive months, he said.
It showed that the global economic crisis in the US especially started to weaken, he said.
At the BEI, State telecommunication company PT Telkom shares dropped 100 points to Rp6,500 pe share, cigarette company Gudang Garam shares went down from Rp5,500 to Rp5,450 per share, Astra International shares tumbled 100 points to Rp13,000 per share.
BRI shares plunged 75 points to Rp4,150 per share, Medco shares decreased 25 points to Rp2,000, Bukit Asam shares fell from Rp6,750 to Rp6,700 per share, and BCA shares were down Rp50 to Rp2,775 per share.