JAKARTA STOCKS TRADE HIGHER ON WALL STREET GAINS

Jakarta, Feb. 2 (ANTARA) - The Composite Stock Price Index (IHSG) at the Indonesian Stock Exchange (BEI) here on Tuesday morning got off to a strong start on Wall Street gains.

The BEI Index went up 0.75 percent or 19.531 points to 2,607.085 points, and the LQ-45 index rose 4.527 points or 0.90 percent to 509,529.

Indonesian stocks were boosted by Wall Street gains which were bolstered by an improvement in US manufacturing data which had earlier been expected to weaken, according to Krisna Dwi Setiawan, a research analyst of PT Valbury Asia Securities.

"We are optimistic the BEI index will continue to gain as Wall Street is expected to rally again following significantly-improved US manufacturing data," he said.

Among top gainers at the BEI were Astra Int shares that rose 500 to Rp35,900, Astra Agro Lestari shares that gained d Rp200 to Rp23,300, United Tractor shares that increased Rp200 to Rp16,750, Gudang Garam shares that went up Rp100 to Rp24,200, HM Sampoerna shares that surged Rp250 to Rp13,415, BRI shares that climbed Rp100 to Rp3,625, Bank Danmon shares that appreciated Rp75 to Rp4,725, and Telkom shares that rose Rp100 to Rp9,400.

Meanwhile, the rupiah traded Rp9,375-Rp9,380 per US dollar, down five points from Rp9,380-Rp9,390 at the market's close a day earlier.