•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   

Indonesian shares ended slightly higher on Thursday, pushing past the psychologically significant 1,900-point level, with regional gains bolstering sentiment on the local market, analysts said.

“Regional markets continued to influence local sentiment — the upside trend was maintained,” said Edwin Sinaga, director of brokerage PT Financorpindo.

The Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) gained for the second straight day, adding 10.03 points, or 0.5 percent, to close at 1,902.88.

Trading was mixed as investors took profit, especially in banking shares.

Some 6.8 billion shares worth Rp 3.04 trillion ($295 million) changed hands. Losers led gainers 95 to 88, with 76 stocks remaining unchanged.

Mohammad Alfatih, an analyst at PT BNI Securities, said the index hit its highest point in the past three months.

“There has been a strong upswing in sentiment in recent months, creating further upward momentum,” he said.

Sinaga said that local stocks were generally still fluctuating, driving investor preference for short-term trades.

“Profit-taking hit banking stocks [on Thursday] because they had rallied in the days before,” he said, noting that most analysts viewed banking stocks as somewhat expensive at their current prices.

“I think investors remained focused on banking stocks ahead of the government’s announcement on inflation — investors were expecting it to decline,” Alfatih said.

Looking ahead, buying will likely focus on companies that delivered dividends last year, he said. Alfatih expects the index to reach 1,940 in the short term and 1,960 in the medium term.

Cigarette producer PT Gudang Garam gained 10.6 percent to Rp 11,500 — its highest since July 20, 2007. The stock rose after PT Danareksa Sekuritas said in a report that the company’s sales volume exceeded those of its competitors in the first four months of this year.

Its market share also widened, Bloomberg reported.

PT Astra International rose 4.8 percent to Rp 21,750, PT Indofood Sukses Makmur added 1.7 percent to Rp 1,790, while PT Bumi Resources rose 1.58 percent to close at Rp 1,930.

PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia, meanwhile, fell 1.32 percent to Rp 7,450 and PT Mitra Rajasa shed 2.9 percent to Rp 650.

PT Bank Danamon lost 1.9 percent to hit Rp 3,825, while PT Bank Negara Indonesia declined 1.88 percent to Rp 1,570.