Indonesia's stock index rises to record, led by Semen Gresik
Indonesia's stock index rises to record, led by Semen Gresik
Bloomberg Jakarta
Indonesia's stock index rose to a record for the third day this week. PT Semen Gresik and PT Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa gained on expectations demand for cement will accelerate next year.
The Jakarta Composite Index added 8.969, or 1 percent, to 890.365 at the 4 p.m. local time close. The index has closed at records for the past three days. About seven stocks gained for every five that fell.
Gresik, the biggest cement maker by sales, surged Rp 700, or 6.2 percent, to Rp 12,000 on expectations of higher profit following a news report that the company expects demand for the building material to accelerate next year.
Rival PT Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa jumped Rp 125, or 6.3 percent, to Rp 2,100.
Gresik plans to halt exports of cement next year to meet rising domestic demand that is expected to grow in excess of 10 percent, faster than the 10 percent rise estimated this year. Gresik said earlier it sells cement in the domestic market at a higher price than its exports.
About 1.34 billion shares worth Rp 1.23 trillion (US$135 million) changed hands, 71 percent more than the six-month daily average of Rp 717 billion.
The following stocks also rose or fell.
Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names.
PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam, a state-controlled coal miner, gained Rp 125, or 14 percent, to Rp 1,050. Danareksa Sekuritas raised forecasts on the company's earnings for 2004 by 6.9 percent to Rp 324.1 billion and for 2005 by 8.5 percent to Rp 367.9 billion.
Danareksa also raised its 12-month target price for Bukit Asam's shares to Rp 1,350 from Rp 1,250 in September, said analyst Erwan Teguh in a note to clients.
The upgrade came after Bukit Asam reported last week net income in the nine months ended Sept. 30 surged 71 percent, helped by a 15 percent gain in sales.
PT Sari Husada, which produces milk and baby food, shed Rp 50, or 2.5 percent, to Rp 1,950.
PT Mandiri Sekuritas cut its estimates for Sari Husada's 2004 earnings per share by 29 percent to Rp 108 and 2005 by 20 percent to Rp 145.
The cut came after the company reported on Tuesday net income in the nine months ended Sept. 30 fell 25 percent from the year- earlier partly because of higher marketing expenses.
"The operating results were below expectations," said Mandiri analyst Rani Sofjan in a note to clients dated on Wednesday. She also cut the recommendation on Sari Husada's stock to "neutral" from "buy."
PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia, or Telkom, Indonesia's biggest telephone company, added Rp 150, or 3.3 percent, to Rp 4,725 on a report its unit plans to test a new technology.
PT Telekomunikasi Selular, Telkom's cellular unit, plans to test high-speed mobile-phone services in the first quarter next year, Bisnis Indonesia reported, citing Bambang Riadhy Oemar, a company official.
The so-called third-generation, or 3G, technology allows users to view video clips on their phones. Cellular services contributed about a third of Telkom's revenue in the nine months to Sept. 30.