Jakarta stock index; PT Telkom gain
Jakarta stock index; PT Telkom gain
Naila Firdausi, Bloomberg/Jakarta
Indonesia's key stock index rose for the first day in three. PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia gained as some investors judged recent declines excessive relative to its earnings potential.
PT Excelcomindo Pratama climbed after Moody's Investors Service said it may raise the phone company's debt rating, boosting expectations lending costs may decline.
The Jakarta Composite Index added 8.13, or 0.7 percent, to 1102.78 at the 4 p.m. local time close, halting a two-day, 0.9 percent slide. The benchmark earlier fell as much as 0.1 percent. Gaining stocks led decliners 59 to 42.
Telekomunikasi, or Telkom, the nation's biggest telephone company, increased Rp 100, or 2 percent, to 5,200. The stock fell 5.6 percent in the two days through Oct. 7.
"Telkom is attractive after recent declines," said Arfan Karniody, who helps manage the equivalent of US$248 million at PT Niaga Aset Manajemen in Jakarta.
Excelcomindo, Indonesia's third-largest cellular company, added Rp 300, or 8 percent, to Rp 4,050.
The company may have its debt rating raised after Khazanah Nasional Bhd, Malaysia's state-owned investment firm, purchased a 16.8 percent stake in the company, Moody's Investors Service said on Oct. 7.
Shares of the company began trading on Sept. 29 after the nation's biggest initial share sale in two years. A higher rating would help the company cut costs in future borrowings. Excelcomindo last week said it plans to raise Rp 5 trillion ($497 million) by selling debt in 2007 to pay debt and expand.
The Jakarta Infrastructure, Utility and Transportation Index, which counts Telkom and Excelcomindo among its 17 members, accounted for 68 percent of the broader index's advance.
About 519 million shares worth Rp 468 billion changed hands, less than half the six-month daily average trading value of Rp 1.02 trillion.
The following stocks also rose or fell in Jakarta. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names.
Palm-oil companies: Palm oil for December delivery fell 0.5 percent to 1,459 ringgit ($387) a metric ton as of 3:04 p.m. local time on the Malaysian Derivatives Exchange, set for its second day of declines. Malaysia is the world's biggest producer of the edible oil.