Jakarta. Indonesia's benchmark stock index declined on Monday (09/01) after three consecutive days of gains, due to an absence of positive catalysts at home and the repatriation by some investors of their assets from emerging markets to the United States, driven by positive employment data from that country.

The Jakarta Composite Index closed 0.57 percent lower at 5,316.36, following a 0.4 percent surge on Friday. Decliners beat gainers by 190 to 132.

Foreign investors, accounting for 35 percent of the total trade on Monday, bought Rp 31.2 billion ($2.3 million) more in shares than they sold, while domestic investors sold Rp 31 billion more in shares than they bought.

Bank Rakyat Indonesia, the country's second-largest lender, was the biggest laggard of the day, with its share price closing 2.89 percent lower at Rp 11,750. The lender has Rp 287 trillion in market capitalization.

NH Korindo Securities analyst Bima Setiaji said stock markets in emerging countries such as Indonesia were affected by news of average hourly wage earnings in the United States that increased by 0.4 percent in December after slipping 0.1 percent in November.

Wages also rose 2.9 percent year-on-year, which was the largest increase since 2009, the US Department of Labor reported on Friday last week.

Improving economic conditions in the United States typically encourage investors to repatriate their assets.

Bima said improving economic conditions may trigger the US Federal Reserve to increase interest rates again in the near future.

He said local stocks are considered to have been "overbought" and the lack of a positive catalyst from the domestic market also dragged down the index.

The rupiah weakened to 13,385 against the United States dollar on Monday compared to 13,347 on Friday, according to data from Bank Indonesia.

With additional reporting from Reuters