JAKARTA STOCKS OPEN DOWN SLIGHTLY ON WALL STREET LOSSES

Jakarta, Nov. 30 (ANTARA) - Indonesian stocks got off to a weak start Monday morning as investors sold shares following Wall Street losses.

The Composite Stock Price Index (IHSG) at the Indonesian Stock Exchange (BEI) went down 19.939 points or 0.79 percent to 2,375.747 points and the LQ-45 index plunged 3.715 points or 0.70 percent to 467.140 points.

The domestic stock market was dominated by sell-offs as Wall Street stocks slumped although a number of regional bourses as as those in Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong surged, according to Alfiansyah, a stock broker of PT Sinarmas Securities.

South Korean stocks, for instance, opened higher as the market recovered from jitters over Dubai's debt problems.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 31.52 points, or 2.07 percent, to trade at 1,556.02 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Another factor which affected the domestic stock market was the fact that Indonesia was being hit by several problematic cases such as Bank Century case, he said.

Investors were cautious over the unconducive situation in the country, he said.

However, he believed that investors still considered Indonesia a better potential market than other Asian countries.

Among top losers at the BEI were Astra International shares which lost Rp400 to Rp31,600, Gudang Garam shares that slid Rp150 to Rp17,100, BRI shares that fell Rp150 to Rp7,500, Bukit Asam shares that plunged Rp150 to Rp15,700, BCA shares that declined Rp125 to Rp4,500, Indosat shares that went down Rp75 to Rp4,925, Medco shares that dropped Rp50 to Rp2,500 and Inco shares that dropped Rp50 to Rp3,475.

Meanwhile, the rupiah traded Rp9,465-Rp9,475 per US dollar, down 85 points from Rp9,380-Rp9,395 per US dollar at the market's close last weekend, as investors released the local unit to take profit.