JAKARTA (Thomson Financial) - Indonesian shares were weaker at midday on Tuesday but off the session's lows as miners and palm oil stocks rebounded after oil prices rose to a fresh record above $120 a barrel.
But major banks retreated as investors opted for caution ahead of the announcement of the Indonesian central bank's decision on interest rates later today.
Most analysts expect Bank Indonesia to hold interest rates steady even as rising kerosene prices drove annual inflation to 8.96 percent in April, the highest since September 2006.
'The market was quite volatile this morning as traders were awaiting the central bank's decision on interest rates,' Mega Capital analyst Ratna Lim said.
Lim said the rise in crude oil prices encouraged investors to accumulate miners and plantation stocks, helping trim the main index's losses.
The composite index was down 3.60 points or 0.2 percent at 2,384.38, off a low of 2.366.41.
The LQ-45 index was down 0.60 point at 513.86.
But gainers led decliners 86 to 81, with 63 stocks unchanged.
Volume was 1.66 billion shares valued at 2.20 trillion rupiah.
The Indonesian rupiah was trading at 9,224/9,228 to the U.S. dollar, compared to 9,208/9,218 late Monday.
Index heavyweight Telkom lost 0.6 percent to 8,950 rupiah, nickel producer Inco fell 0.8 percent to 6,650 rupiah, Bank Rakyat Indonesia declined 2.9 percent to 6,700 rupiah, and Bank Mandiri dropped 1.6 percent to 3,025 rupiah.
Gainers include coal producer Bumi Resources which rose 0.7 percent to 6,850 rupiah, its peer Bukit Asam gained 1.9 percent to 10,900 rupiah and Indo Tambangraya added 3.7 percent to 23,600. Gas distributor Perusahaan Gas Negara was up 0.8 percent at 12,700 rupiah, off a low of 12,450 rupiah.
Plantation stock London Sumatra advanced 2.1 percent to 9,550 rupiah while rival Astra Agro added 0.6 percent to 24,050 rupiah.
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