Key stock index gains for 2nd day
Key stock index gains for 2nd day
Naila Firdausi, Bloomberg/Jakarta
Indonesia's stock index rose for a second day. PT Astra
International gained as investors bet lower oil costs will allow
the government to delay raising retail fuel prices.
PT International Nickel Indonesia (Inco) declined on lower
nickel prices.
The Jakarta Composite Index added 0.71, or 0.1 percent, to
1163.03 at the 4 p.m. local time close. Gaining stocks and
decliners were about equal. The measure, which rose 0.8 percent
and fell 0.6 percent earlier, is set for a 16 percent jump this
year, its fourth straight advance.
The index jumped 1.7 percent on Monday after crude oil prices
had the biggest drop in almost three months on Dec. 16. Oil fell
1.2 percent to US$57.34 a barrel on Monday in New York, the
lowest close since Nov. 30. The contract was at $57.53 at 3:33
p.m. in Singapore.
"The pressure for the government to raise fuel prices is
easing," said Alvin Pattisahusiwa, who helps manage about $203
million at Fortis Investments in Jakarta. "Global crude prices
are not much higher than the level assumed in the budget."
The government's 2006 budget, approved last month by
lawmakers, assumes an average crude price of $57 a barrel. A 26
percent increase in crude costs in the past year prompted
Indonesia, the only net oil importer among Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries members, to raise retail fuel
prices twice this year to prevent subsidies draining the nation's
coffers.
Astra, Indonesia's biggest automobile distributor, added Rp
100, or 1 percent, to Rp 10,250. PT Indomobil Sukses
Internasional, the No. 2, jumped Rp 130, or 15 percent, to Rp
1,020. PT Ramayana Lestari Sentosa, the second-biggest retailer
by sales, jumped Rp 40, or 5.1 percent, to Rp 830.
PT Energi Mega Persada, Indonesia's No. 2 oil and gas company,
slipped Rp 10, or 1.4 percent, to Rp 730.
Elsewhere, Inco, a local unit of Canada's Inco Ltd., fell Rp
100, or 0.8 percent, to Rp 12,950. Nickel dropped 1.6 percent to
$13,775 a metric ton on Monday in London. The contract was at
$13,650 a ton at 9:26 a.m. London time.
PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), the country's fourth-largest
lender by assets, added Rp 25, or 0.8 percent, to Rp 3,050. BRI
expects to beat its profit forecast of Rp 3.73 trillion ($378
million) this year on increased lending to small- and medium-
sized businesses, said Chief Financial Officer Wayan Alit Antara.
PT Bank Mandiri, Indonesia's largest lender, lost Rp 20, or
1.3 percent, to Rp 1,560. The stock has fallen 6 percent since
UBS AG analyst Joshua Tanja in a report on Dec. 14 cut the
recommendation on the lender's stock to "reduce2" from
"neutral2."
PT Berlian Laju Tanker, Indonesia's biggest shipping company
by value, rose Rp 30, or 3 percent, to Rp 1,020.
"There is going to be a lot of trade in and out of" the Asian
region "in the next two, three, five even 10 years," David
Riedel, chairman of Riedel Research Group Inc., said in New York.
Berlian "is a great play on that trend."
PT Delta Dunia Petroindo, an apparel manufacturer, dropped Rp
230, or 29 percent, to Rp 550, sliding for a third day. The stock
has risen more than seven times this year to Dec. 14.
"It's a speculative small stock, and investors think the price
has jumped too much," said Arief Satria, an analyst at PT
Danasakti Sekuritas in Jakarta. Danasakti was a net seller of the
stock on Tuesday.