Jakarta Composite Index Opens Higher

Jakarta, Oct 6 (Antara) - The Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) opened slightly higher here on Monday on positive external sentiment, analysts said. The Index of the Indonesian Stock Exchange (BEI) rose 25.85 points or 0.52 percent to 4,975.20 points with the index of 45 most liquid stocks up 0.78 percent to 840.39 points. Samuel Sekuritas` analyst Aiza said Asian regional markets including BEI gained on positive sentiment from the US market. U.S. labor data improved with unemployment declining beyond expectation, Aiza said. U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 5.9 percent in September from 6.1 percent in the previous month with 288,000 new jobs open. The market apparently has anticipated the domestic political sentiment, Aiza said. "The market already expected what would take place in the political fight for control of the People Consultative Assembly (MPR) on Monday," he said. Meanwhile, a team of technical analysts of Mandiri Sekuritas said the market players are still waiting for the release of the performances of listed companies in the third quarter of this year. The financial reports are expected to be published in the near future. Regional markets such as Hang Seng, Nikkei and Straits Times recorded an increase in index.