Key stock index drops as Bumi, Telkom decline
Key stock index drops as Bumi, Telkom decline
Naila Firdausi, Bloomberg/Jakarta
Indonesia's key stock index slid on Friday for a second day in
three, paced by coal exporter PT Bumi Resources as investors bet
coal prices will drop next year.
PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia and PT Gudang Garam led slides
among the biggest companies by value after the police said the
country was on top alert for terror attacks during the Christmas
and New Year period.
The Jakarta Composite Index dropped 5.68, or 0.5 percent, to
1,158.34 at the 4 p.m. local time close. Declining stocks led
gainers 57 to 36. The measure gained 1.3 percent this week for a
16 percent advance this year.
The Indonesian market will be shut on Dec. 26 for a holiday.
Bumi, Indonesia's biggest thermal coal exporter, lost Rp 10,
or 1.3 percent, to Rp 780.
Asian contract rates for thermal coal, used in power plants,
may fall to US$42 a metric ton or less next year, from a record
of $53 this year, because of higher output, said Andrew
Harrington, a resources analyst at Australia & New Zealand
Banking Group Ltd.
"I will probably adjust my position" in coal-miner stocks on
the outlook of lower coal prices, said Eli Djurfanto, who helps
manage the equivalent of $345 million at ABN-Amro Asset
Management Indonesia in Jakarta, including Bumi shares.
Stocks also fell after the country's National Police Spokesman
Anton Bahrul Alam said on Friday the country was on top alert for
terror attacks.
Indonesian police will deploy a fourth of its police force, or
47,800 officers, to guard churches during Christmas and New Year.
Australia and the U.S. this week updated their warnings to
citizens visiting the Southeast Asian nation because terrorists
may attack visitors from western nations over the holiday period.
"The news deterred investors to buy stocks," said Edwin
Sinaga, senior equity sales manager at PT Kuo Capital Raharja in
Jakarta.
Telekomunikasi, or Telkom, fell Rp 100, or 1.7 percent, to Rp
5,950. Telkom also slipped after its American depositary
receipts, which consist of 40 shares each, slid 0.1 percent to
$24.07 in New York on Thursday, equivalent with Rp 5,935 a share.
Gudang Garam, the country's biggest cigarette maker, fell Rp
100, or 0.9 percent, to Rp 11,500. PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia, the
fourth-largest lender by assets, lost Rp 50, or 1.6 percent, to
Rp 3,000.
About 699 million shares worth Rp 499 billion ($51 million)
changed hands on Friday, 40 percent less than the three- month
average daily trading value.
The following stocks also rose or fell in Jakarta. Stock
symbols are in parentheses after company names.
PT Adhi Karya, a state-controlled construction company,
declined Rp 20, or 2.7 percent, to Rp 710. PT Danareksa Sekuritas
rated the stock "sell" as the company faces slower construction
orders due to higher interest rates, analyst Chandra S. Pasaribu
wrote in a note to clients on Friday.
PT Astra International, the biggest auto retailer, climbed Rp
150, or 1.5 percent, to Rp 10,350 after the government scrapped a
plan to increase taxes on vehicles. Higher taxes would hurt the
country's automobile industry, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani
Indrawati said on Thursday.
PT Petrosea, the Indonesian unit of Australia's Clough Ltd.,
fell Rp 100, or 1.6 percent, to Rp 6,350. The stock jumped 17
percent in the previous three days on the company's plan to buy
back as much as 10 percent of its shares.