Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Jakarta composite index (JCI) closed 0.34 percent lower on Tuesday on profit taking analysts said.

The index of the Indonesian Stock Exchange (BEI) fell 18.68 points to 5,440.29 points with index of 45 most liquid stocks down 0.47 percent to 936.32 points.

"Domestic investors sold share for profit after significant price rise on Monday , but foreign investors still left a net buy," Reliance Securities analyst Lanjar Nafi said here on Tuesday.

Based on BEI data, foreign net buy reached Rp967.81 billion on Tuesday.

Lanjar said the JCI decline was also attributable to projection of slowdown in growth of retail sales to 13.5 percwent from 14 percent earlier.

HD Capital analyst Yuganur Wijanarko said share buying is still potential by market players with the high economic optimism.

Trade on Tuesday recorded 328,025 transactions with 8.86 billion shares worth Rp8.77 trillion changing hands.

Gainers were outnumbered by decliners by 137 to 159 shares with 101 share stagnant.

Regional markets including Hang Seng declined in index, but Nikkei and KOSPI gained.

Meanwhile, the national currency rupiah regained strength in inter-bank transactions trading at the level of 13,115 per U.S. dollar in Tuesdays closing from 13,124 the day before.

"The rupiah strengthening was attributable to the national economic fundamental. The countrys economic growth of 5.18 percent in the Q2 still gave a positive sentiment," financial market observer Rully Nova from Bank Himpunan Saudara said .

He said the tax amnesty program has triggered inflows of foreign funds to the domestic market shoring up rupiah.

"Investors in the financial market are optimistic with the tax amnesty policy that could contribute to financing the countrys infrastructure projects. Development of infrastructure is expected to further accelerate the countrys economic growth," he said.

However, chief researcher of Monex Investindo Futures Ariston Tjendra said latest U.S. labor data, already released, were quite positive giving strength to the U.S. dollar against the majority of global currencies.

The dollar strengthening has curbed rupiah from rising higher, he said.

"The positive U.S. data is potential to result an increase in U.S. fund rate that market players in developing countries tended to observe caution," he said.

(SYS/H-ASG/A014)

Editor: Suryanto
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