TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) at the Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX) went up by 18.29 points at the end of Tuesday's trading session—driven by speculative investors who are acting in response to the continuously depreciating rupiah.

The JCI rose by 18,29 points or 0.34 percent to close at 5,462.92 points, while the Top 45 (LQ45) Index climbed by 2.85 points or 0.30 percent to conclude trading at 949.39 points.

"The JCI's fluctuation today is partly driven by the acts of speculative investors who are reacting to the continuously depreciating rupiah, which has breached Rp13,000 per US dollar," said a senior analyst for LBP Enterprise, Lucky Bayu Purnomo, in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Purnomo explained that throughout Tuesday's trading session, the JCI had initially stayed in the red before rebounding into the green as the day progressed. The varied movement, said Purnomo, was reflective of the market players' short-term outlook.

"The actions of these speculative investors do not reflect the real economic condition on the ground. To protect the Index, the government needs to intervene more actively by keeping the prices of basic necessities stable, which will keep inflation in check and thus improving Indonesia's economic fundamentals," said Purnomo.

Purnomo also hopes that Bank Indonesia (BI) will lower its rate in order to boost Indonesia's economic growth by increasing the amount of credit available to fund expansion and start-ups.

An analyst for Pefindo, Guntur Tri Haryanto, added that JCI's chances for an uptrend remain wide open, as the Index remains quite attractive as an investment destination with a price-to-earning (PER) ratio of around 16 times the investment.

"The Index's value is still competitive compared to its neighboring bourses, where PER ratio hovers between 14-17 times the share price. As such, the JCI could still move into the green," said Guntur.

IDX records indicate that there where 267,870 transactions throughout Tuesday's trading session, wherein 4.85 billion shares worth Rp5.15 trillion were traded. The shares of 153 companies experienced an uptrend, the shares of 150 companies saw varying degrees of negative corrections, while 103 others remained stagnant.

Meanwhile, across Asia, the Hang Seng Index slipped by 226.07 points or 0.94 percent to close at 23,986.98 points, the Nikkei similarly sagged by 125.44 points or 0.67 percent to close at 18,665.11 points, and similarly the Straits Times Index dropped by 4.47 points or 0.13 percent to conclude its Tuesday trading at 3,400.01 points.

ANTARA