JCI Slides as Investors Await Cabinet Lineup
24 October 2014 12:26 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The slight losses experienced by the Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) at the Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX) at the opening of Friday's trading session shows that investors are not rushing and still waiting for President Joko Widodo to announce his cabinet lineup.
The JCI was slightly weaker by 5.22 points or 0.10 percent to begin trading at 5,098.29 points, while the Top 45 (LQ45) Index also dipped by 1.30 points or 0.15 percent to begin trading at 866.41 points.
Alfiansyah, the head of research at Valbury Asia Securities, said in Jakarta on Friday that the slight losses of the IDX showed that the delays in making the cabinet announcement have not stirred anxiety among investors.
"Market players are still confident that the new cabinet will be able to advance Indonesia's economic interests," said Alfiansyah, who added that the JCI would benefit from the overall uptrend in the global market today, which gives the JCI a chance to regain its losses.
Meanwhile, analysts from Mandiri Sekuritas said in their review the IDX would continue to move upwards, up to a predicted upper limit of 5,142 points.
They added that markets were keeping an eye on a number of key areas—among the most important is Joko Widodo's plan to increase the price of subsidized fuel on October 31. New prices are expected to be effective beginning November 1, and recent reports suggest that the government plans to increase the price of subsidized fuel by Rp3,000 per liter.
"The price increase represents a saving of Rp20 trillion from the State Budget. The government plans to use the freed-up funds to provide assistance for the poor, which will bear the brunt of the price hike," said the review.
Meanwhile across Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid by 77.09 points or 0.33 percent to 23,256.09 points, while the Nikkei rose by 124.82 points or 0.82 percent to trade at 15,266.27 points. Singapore's Straits Times Index also slid by 15.22 points or down by 0.48 percent to 3,220.89 points.
ANTARA
