BEI INDEX OPENS 0.49 PERCENT LOWER EARLY THURSDAY

Jakarta, June 4 (ANTARA) - The Composite Stock Price Index (IHSG) at the Indonesian Stock Exchange (BEI) early Thursday opened 9.869 points or 0.49 percent lower at 2,000.045 points.

The LQ45 shares plunged 2.464 points or 0.59 percent to 391.507 points.

Overnight falls in U.S. markets affected Asian bourses including the BEI, Bayu Aji, a research analyst of PT Panin Capital, said here on Thursday.

US stocks tumbled on Wednesday, halting a four-day winning streak, as falling oil prices hit energy shares, while less upbeat economic reports rekindled worries about recovery prospects, according to Reuter.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 65.63 points, or 0.75% to 8,675.24. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index shed 12.98 points, or 1.37% to 931.76, while the Nasdaq Composite Index declined 10.88 points, or 0.59% to 1,825.92.

Japanese share prices opened lower Thursday, with the benchmark Nikkei-225 index falling 50.74 points or 0.52 percent to 9,690.93 in the first minute of trading, AFP reported.

Hong Kong stocks shrank on Thursday morning, with the benchmark Hang Seng Index opening 159 points lower at 18,417.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 7.95 points, or 0.56 percent, to 1,406.94 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The Wall Street slump affected shares at the BEI, such as Adaro Energy shares which fell Rp20 to Rp1,280, Bank Danamon shares that tumbled Rp50 to 4,100, Astra Agro Lestari shares that went down Rp50 to Rp18,650, and Tambang Timah shares which plunged Rp50 to Rp2,050 per share.

However, Bayu Ali believed that the BEI index still had a strength to gain again, especially commodity-based shares.

The rupiah tumbled against the US dollar in the Jakarta interbank spot market, here, early Thursday, on profit taking moves.

The Indonesian currency traded at Rp10,160-Rp10,170 per US dollar, down 20 points from Rp10,140-Rp10,150 per US dollar at the market's close a day earlier.