Indonesian shares outlook - Higher on US rate cut hopes, banks to lead

Indonesian shares outlook - Higher on US rate cut hopes, banks to lead

	Published : Fri, 30 Nov 2007 03:15 By : Agencies Print this Story

JAKARTA (Thomson Financial) - Indonesian shares are expected to open higher Friday, led by banking stocks, after Fed chairman Bernanke hinted at another US interest rate cut.

Wall Street rose for the third consecutive day on Thursday following Bernanke's comments and improved US third-quarter GDP numbers but there are concerns that the US economy may fall into a recession due to the subprime problems.

Bernanke hinted Thursday that another interest rate cut may be needed to bolster the world's biggest economy. The Fed is expected to decide on its rate policy on December 11.

'I see a good chance for the market to extend its gains today supported by Wall Street's rise overnight and expectations that the Fed may further cut its rate next month,' Trimegah Securities analyst Satrio Utomo said.

Investors are likely to focus on interest-sensitive stocks such as banks and property, he said.

Profit-taking in select stocks such as miners after a recent could limit the shares rise, he said.

Media Nusantara Citra shares may go up after the company entered into an agreement to purchase not less than a 51 percent stake in Linktone Ltd, a China-based provider of telecom media, entertainment, and communication services company.

Yesterday, the Jakarta composite index closed up 27.92 points or 1.1 percent at 2,699.82, off a record intraday high of 2,737.81. The previous record was 2,732.67 set on November 1.

The LQ-45 index was up 6.67 points at 594.65.

Volume was 4.52 billion shares valued at 8.26 trillion rupiah.

The Indonesian rupiah in early dealings was at 9,378/9,380 to the US dollar, compared to 9,375/9,385 late Thursday.

(1 US dollar = 9,379 rupiah)

roffie.kurniawan@thomson.com

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