Indonesia's stocks rise for first day in three
Indonesia's stocks rise for first day in three
Bloomberg
Jakarta
Indonesian stocks rose on Tuesday for the first day in three as
the rupiah strengthened from a three-year low against the dollar.
PT Indofood Sukses Makmur, the world's largest maker of instant
noodles, paced gains.
PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia, the nation's biggest telephone
company, climbed for the first day in eight after Bisnis
Indonesia said the number of subscribers at its cellular unit
grew 16 percent this year.
The Jakarta Composite Index jumped 11.89, or 1.2 percent, to
1031.77, halting a two-day, 4.8 percent slide.
"The rupiah's rebound helped stock sentiment," said Purboyo
Purnomo, who helps manage US$826 million in stocks and bonds for
PT Mandiri Manajemen Investasi in Jakarta.
Indofood rose Rp 40, or 3.9 percent, to Rp 1,060. About 60
percent of the company's production costs are linked to the U.S.
dollar, the company said earlier.
Bank shares advanced after the central bank said it began
selling a new type of three-day debt, with an interest rate of
3.625 percent, aimed at reducing liquidity in the markets.
"It's a good move," Purboyo said. "It may help slow the rate
of inflation and stem a decline in the rupiah."
PT Bank Rakyat, Indonesia's fourth-largest lender by assets,
rose Rp 75, or 2.8 percent, to Rp 2,725. PT Bank Central Asia,
the No. 2, added Rp 50, or 1.6 percent, to Rp 3,200.
The following stocks also rose or fell in Jakarta. Stock
symbols are in parentheses after company names.
PT International Nickel Indonesia, the local unit of the
world's second-biggest nickel-mining company, Inco Ltd., rose Rp
100, or 0.8 percent, to Rp 13,150.
The company said it plans to spend $280 million over four
years to raise capacity to 200 million pounds of nickel by 2009,
from 160 million pounds this year.
PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam, an Indonesian state-controlled
coal company, jumped Rp 80, or 6.2 percent, to Rp 1,380. The
company will complete plans to acquire PT Multi Harapan Utama by
the end of the month, Bisnis Indonesia reported, citing Bukit
Asam's president, Ismet Harmaini.
PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia, the nation's biggest telephone
company, added Rp 25, or 0.6 percent, to Rp 4,375, ending a
seven-day, 7.9 percent slump.
Its cellular unit PT Telekomunikasi Selular has a total of
18.5 million subscribers this month, up from 16 million at the
end of last year.
"Telkom should post good operating profit this year because of
rising numbers of subscribers in the cellular business," Katarina
Setiawan, an analyst at Kim Eng Securities in Jakarta, said.