Stocks index fall 0.5%; Matahari, Astra slide
Stocks index fall 0.5%; Matahari, Astra slide
Naila Firdausi, Bloomberg/Jakarta
Indonesia's key stock index fell for the first day in seven. PT
Astra International dropped on concern a plan to raise automobile
taxes will slow demand for vehicles.
Consumer-related stocks such as PT Matahari Putra Prima
declined on concern consumer spending is slowing after the
government raised household fuel prices last month.
The Jakarta Composite Index lost 5.21, or 0.5 percent, to
1061.08 at the 4 p.m. local time close, ending a six-day, 4.8
percent advance. Declining stocks led gainers 43 to 40.
Indonesia, Asia's fourth-biggest vehicle market, will soon
raise taxes on buyers of cars by as much as 10 percentage points
to boost revenue, according to a decree signed by President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Oct. 25 and released by the Ministry
of Finance on Tuesday night.
"Consumers are already facing higher lending rates and the
higher tax will further dampen auto demand," said Endarto, who
helps manage the equivalent of US$20 million at PT Bhakti Asset
Management in Jakarta.
Astra, Indonesia's biggest auto retailer, declined Rp 250, or
2.7 percent, to Rp 9,100, after jumping 13 percent in the earlier
six days.
Matahari, Indonesia's biggest retailer by sales, lost Rp 50,
or 4.7 percent, to Rp 1,010, its first decline in nine days.
Matahari plans to open 19 hypermarkets and department stores next
year, compared with 23 budgeted for this year, Director Danny
Kojongian said on Tuesday.
PT Unilever Indonesia, the country's biggest maker of
detergents and ice cream, slipped Rp 150, or 3.4 percent, to Rp
4,250. The government on Oct. 1 more than doubled, on average,
fuel prices sold to retail users to prevent oil subsidies
draining the nation's coffers.
PT Bank Danamon, Indonesia's fifth-largest lender by assets,
lost Rp 125, or 3.2 percent, to Rp 3,775 as some investors judged
recent gains excessive compared with earnings potential. The
stock jumped 15 percent in the five days to Tuesday.
PT International Nickel Indonesia, the local unit of the
world's second-largest nickel-mining company, Inco Ltd., dropped
Rp 600, or 4.5 percent, to Rp 12,850. Nickel for delivery in
three months on the London Metal Exchange dropped 2.5 percent to
US$12,575 a metric ton on Tuesday, ending a three-day, 9.9
percent advance. The contract traded at $12,400 a ton at 9:14
a.m. London time.
PT Medco Energi Internasional, the country's biggest publicly
traded oil and gas company, surged Rp 175, or 5.6 percent, to
Rp 3,325, the biggest gain since Aug. 30. State oil and gas
company PT Pertamina is in talks with Medco to build a liquefied
natural gas plant in the eastern part of Sulawesi island. It will
have a capacity of two million metric tons a year, Pertamina's
Vice President Mustiko Saleh told reporters in Jakarta on
Tuesday.
PT Semen Cibinong, Indonesia's third-largest cement maker by
value, advanced Rp 15, or 3.3 percent, to 465. The company has
set aside $10 million in cash to buy back debt, with the option
to increase the amount by another $10 million, as it aims to cut
its dollar-denominated borrowings and interest expenses,
Corporate Secretary Jannus Hutapea said in a statement to the
Jakarta Stock Exchange on Tuesday.