Indonesian Political, Business & Finance News

Stock index gains; Panin advances, EMP declines

| Source: AP

Stock index gains; Panin advances, EMP declines

Naila Firdausi, Bloomberg/Jakarta

Indonesia's key stock index rose for the first day in three. PT Bank Pan Indonesia advanced for the first day in eight as investors judged recent declines made the stock attractive.

PT Energi Mega Persada fell after crude oil prices slid below US$60 a barrel for the first time since July.

The Jakarta Composite Index added 0.56 point to 1075.96 at the 4 p.m. local time close. Gaining stocks led decliners 56 to 44. The index, which earlier rose as much as 0.2 percent and fell 0.7 percent, slipped 1.9 percent this week, its first weekly slide in four.

Bank Pan Indonesia, or Panin, climbed Rp 15, or 4.1 percent, to Rp 380. The stock dropped 18 percent in the seven days through yesterday on concern the lender will report a weak third- quarter performance as higher interest rates cut loan demand and boost costs.

PT Semen Cibinong, the country's third-biggest cement maker, rose Rp 20, or 4.6 percent, to Rp 460, its first gain in four days.

"Some stocks have dropped too much, prompting some investors to buy," said Prayoga Triyono, head analyst at PT Henan Putihrai in Jakarta.

Indonesian companies are due to report unaudited nine-month earnings at the end of this month.

About 617 million shares worth Rp 553 billion (US$55 million) changed hands, 49 percent less than the three-month daily average trading value of Rp 1.1 trillion.

The following stocks also rose or fell. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names.

PT Astra Agro Lestari, Indonesia's biggest publicly traded agricultural company, slipped Rp 50, or 0.9 percent, to Rp 5,500. Palm oil for delivery in January declined 1 percent to 1,420 ringgit ($376) a metric ton at the Malaysian Derivatives Exchange at 5:14 p.m. Kuala Lumpur time. Malaysia is the world's biggest producer of the edible oil.

PT Energi Mega Persada, the second largest publicly traded oil company in Indonesia, lost Rp 20, or 2.7 percent, to 730. Crude oil declined for a fourth day, sliding as much as 0.6 percent to $59.65 a barrel in New York, the first time futures dipped below $60 since July 29. It was up 7 cents to $60.09 at 9:07 a.m. London time.

PT International Nickel Indonesia, the local unit of Canada's Inco Ltd., gained Rp 50, or 0.3 percent, to 14,950, its first rise in three days. Nickel for delivery in three months climbed 0.4 percent to $12,100 a metric ton yesterday on the London Metal Exchange, ending two days of declines.

PT Petrosea, an Indonesian unit of Australia's Clough Ltd., an engineering and contract-mining company, advanced Rp 150, or 2.8 percent, to Rp 5,550. The company yesterday announced it will pay a cash dividend of Rp 300 per share on Dec. 1 to holders of record Nov. 17.

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