During today's trading day, the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IHSG) reached its highest level (4,835.07) just before pre-closing and its lowest level (4,767.93) at the start of session one. At the end, Indonesia's main indicator stood at 4,824.68, an 1.54 percent increase. Trade volume and total value of transactions increased, with foreign investors mostly buying and domestic investors mostly selling their Indonesian assets.

The IDR rupiah rebounded amid investors' wait & see attitude towards meetings of various central banks, e.g. Bank Indonesia, Bank of Japan, Bank of England, and the European Central Bank. Market participants are hoping that these central banks will continue programs of monetary easing in order to boost local economies. This would compensate for the yet-to-be-found solution for America's fiscal situation. The rupiah movement was also positively influenced by effects of a rise in Services PMI in the Euro zone, and the Indonesian government's plan to boost fiscal spending. However, a lower quarterly GDP result from Australia and forecasts of negative GDP growth in the Euro zone halted the rupiah's gain slightly.

Asian stock markets continued their positive movements after European and American stock indices gained strongly due to increased manufacturing data in Europe and the USA. Apart from that, banks in China bought a net 684 billion yuan (US $110 billion) of foreign currencies in January, an indication of larger inflows into China, and which resulted in higher Asian indices (particularly Hong Kong's Hang Seng and Shanghai).

When writing this column, European stock markets opened positively. Various companies released good corporate results that supported the gain, e.g. Henkel AG, Legal & General Group Plc, Admiral Group Plc, and Vodafone Group Plc. Furthermore, several companies are planning to distribute dividend to shareholders, and an expected increase in U.S. Factory Orders may compensate for the Euro zone's negative GDP outlook (-0.6 percent).


Top Movers – Wednesday 6 March 2013

  Company    Change  
Plaza Indonesia Realty      
    25.00%
Lamicitra Nusantara
    24.53%
• Prima Alloy Steel Universal          
    16.39%
• Prasidha Aneka Niaga     14.75%
  Company    Change
• Centris Multipersada Pratama
    24.71%   
• Majapahit Securities                        
    12.50%   
• Perdana Karya Perkasa  
      8.77% 

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