Stocks fall for first time in six days
Stocks fall for first time in six days
Naila Firdausi, Bloomberg/Jakarta
Indonesian stocks fell for the first day in six. PT Indocement
Tunggal Prakarsa and PT Astra International slid on concern costs
will climb after state oil and gas company PT Pertamina said it
plans to raise fuel prices for companies.
PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) and PT Summarecon Agung
declined after the yield on one-month central bank bills rose on
Wednesday, raising concern loan demand will slow.
The Jakarta Composite Index lost 7.68, or 0.7 percent, to
1096.38 at the 4 p.m. local time close. Declining stocks led
gainers 78 to 32 today. The index rose 7.4 percent in the
previous five days.
Pertamina will raise as of Oct. 8 the price of kerosene,
gasoline and diesel sold to industrial users, miners, exporters
and oil companies by 12.1 percent to 22 percent, the state oil
company's head of fuel division Achmad Faisal said on Thursday.
Indocement, the second-biggest cement maker, dropped Rp 100,
or 3.3 percent, to Rp 2,900. PT Bumi Resources, Indonesia's
biggest coal exporter, slid Rp 10, or 1.1 percent, to Rp 880.
Astra, Indonesia's biggest seller of cars and motorcycles,
lost Rp 300, or 3.1 percent, to Rp 9,500.
"It will be difficult to pass on the increase in industrial
fuel prices to consumers who already saw fuel prices rise earlier
this month," said Arhya Satyagraha, an analyst at PT Trimegah
Securities.
The government on Oct. 1 more than doubled the retail price of
auto diesel and boosted the price of premium gasoline by 88
percent to cut fuel subsidies.
The following stocks also rose or fell in Jakarta. Stock
symbols are in parentheses after company names.
Banks, property companies: The yield on one-month central bank
bills rose to 11 percent in an auction on Wednesday from 10
percent a week earlier. Banks use the bill rate as a benchmark to
set their deposit and lending rates.
BRI, the fourth-largest lender by assets, declined Rp 75, or
2.9 percent, to Rp 2,525. Summarecon, the second-biggest real
estate company on the exchange, lost Rp 10, or 1.3 percent, to Rp
740.
"The increase in the yield on the bills will affect the banks'
lending rate for properties," PT BNI Securities research team,
led by Adrian Rusmana, wrote in note to clients on Thursday.
PT Apexindo Pratama Duta, an Indonesian oil drilling firm,
gained Rp 40, or 5.1 percent, to Rp 820, a record. The stock rose
5.4 percent on Wednesday after the company said SeaDrill Ltd., an
oil-rig owner controlled by Norwegian billionaire John
Fredriksen, has bought a 32.3 percent stake in Apexindo for Rp
460.7 billion (US$46 million).
PT Excelcomindo Pratama, Indonesia's third-largest cellular
operator, rose Rp 575, or 20 percent, to Rp 3,450. The stock
jumped 20 percent on Wednesday after the company said it expects
its first profit in three years next year. Excelcomindo also said
it plans to sell Rp 5 trillion of debt in 2007 to repay bonds and
expand operations.
PT Indosat, the country's second-biggest telephone company,
declined Rp 50, or 0.9 percent, to Rp 5,750 as investors judged
recent gains excessive. The stock jumped 18 percent in the five
days through Wednesday.
PT International Nickel Indonesia (Inco), the local unit of
Canada's Inco Ltd., dropped Rp 400, or 2.5 percent, to Rp 15,600.
Nickel for delivery in three months fell 0.5 percent to $13,175 a
metric ton on the London Metal Exchange at 10:13 a.m. local time.