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Strategies & Market Trends : Asia Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Rational who wrote (1125)	1/19/1998 3:41:00 AM
From: Rational	Respond to of 9980

Jakarta shares off highs as rupiah weakens on offshore dollar demand JAKARTA (AFX-ASIA) - Share prices were off their highs as positive sentiment over the merger between PT BDNI and PT BII was undermined by the continued and rapid weakening of the rupiah, dealers said. At 3:00 pm, the composite index was up 18.892 points at 435.285, off a high of 443.318 on volume of 692.3 mln shares. The rupiah was at 9,600-9,800 to the dollar, dealers said. A forex dealer with a foreign bank said traders in Singapore and elsewhere are "still using the excuse" of concerns about the presidential succession to sell down the rupiah. "That's what they're saying anyway," he said. He said today's fall was very sudden. "Before lunch it was trading at 8,600-8,800. Then, within 10-15 minutes, it had slipped to 9,700," he said. Another forex dealer with a bank said there has not been any direct central bank intervention. He said he had heard that the sudden weakness in the currency came from a U.S. bank unloading rupiah in Singapore but the bank's reasons for doing so were unclear. A dealer with a leading local brokerage said ongoing political concerns may have unsettled some currency market players as more details of food riots in East Java last week emerge. At the same time, the fall back is probably profit-taking on the weaker rupiah given the bourse's strong run on speculative interest in the past few sessions. "Locals are punting the market like crazy. The market could potentially come off much more," she said. more AFN