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Jakarta stocks follow Wall Street street down

JAKARTA: Indonesian shares closed lower on Monday as investors sold almost across the board in the wake of of Wall Street's tumble on Friday on interest rate concerns. In Jakarta, trade was relatively thin with no immediate significant reaction to the government's plan to delay excises on cement, tyres and soft drinks.

The Jakarta composite index closed down 6.59 points, or 1.1 percent, at 592.99 points. "Some players had anticipated the excise tax delay on Friday, which helped some stocks rebound that's why there was no significant reaction today," a dealer with a state brokerage said. The excise tax plan partly dampened sentiment last week, especially in cigarette stocks, before a mild rebound on Friday although the index still closed slightly lower.

Cigarette maker Gudang Garam fell 500 rupiah to 12,700 after gaining 125 rupiah and rival Sampoerna fell 375 rupiah to 13,500 after climbing to 14,100 earlier. "We foresee the index will move in the range of 575 to 623 points this week with the support level at 550," an analyst with Trimegah Securities said. Concern about an interest rate hike in the United States will continue to depress the sentiment this week, while talk of a cabinet reshuffle continues despite President Abdurrahman Wahid's latest statement denial.

Blue chip noodlemaker Indofood fell 475 rupiah, or 8.3 percent, to 5,250 on talk the government's planned anti-monopoly law would hit the company. Volume was thin with turnover estimated at 541 billion rupiah. Losers led gainers 71 to 30. The director-general of customs and excise said on Monday a planned excise on cement, tyres and soft drinks may be delayed to mid-2000 rather than April 1 as previously planned.

Finance Minister Bambang Sudibyo said on Monday real growth was seen about three percent in calendar 2000, compared with a forecast of more than four percent by the state statistic bureau last week.-Reuters