corporate earning lift mood in lokal market


Rising commodity prices and higher profits reported by local companies lifted the Jakarta Composite Index to a 1.1 percent gain on Wednesday.

“The Jakarta Composite Index always gets some sort of adjustment from the global market movement, and earning reports that were expected by investors earlier this week are showing some significant increases. That led the index to rise today,” Hendri Effendi, a fundamental market analyst with Citi Pacific Sekuritas, told the Jakarta Globe.

The JCI advanced 38.50 points to close at 3,556.23. About 2.9 billion shares worth Rp 4.1 trillion ($471.5 million) changed hands. Gainers outnumbered decliners 134 to 70.

Aneka Tambang, the nation’s second-largest nickel producer, gained 1.2 percent to Rp 2,200. Its shares rose after the miner announced its net income had more than doubled to Rp 1.68 trillion in 2010, from Rp 604.3 billion the previous year.

Agung Podomoro Land, an integrated property developer, climbed 4.7 percent to Rp 335. The developer’s 2010 net income increased by almost 600 percent to Rp 241.9 billion last year, from Rp 35.1 billion the previous year.

Mitra Adiperkasa, one of the country’s largest retailers, advanced 2.9 percent to Rp 2,675. The company, which operates Starbucks and Burger King franchises, said its 2010 net income climbed 22.6 percent to Rp 201.1 billion from Rp 163.9 billion a year earlier.

Timah, the country’s largest tin producer, rose 3 percent to close at Rp 2,575. Tin for three-month delivery climbed 0.3 percent to $30,250 per ton as the London Metal Exchange closed on Tuesday.

Astra Agro Lestari, the nation’s largest listed plantation firm, gained 2.7 percent to Rp 22,600. Rubber for August-delivery gained 3 percent to 446.9 yen per kilogram ($5,524 per ton) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange on Wednesday.

The rupiah was flat at 8,722 to the dollar as the local market closed on Wednesday, inching down from 8,721 on Tuesday, as rising oil prices and renewed concern about Europe’s debt crisis dampened demand for emerging-market assets.

“Investors are concerned about the developments in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa,” Prakriti Sofat, a Singapore-based economist at Barclays Capital, told Bloomberg.

“Escalating oil prices are fanning inflationary pressures and weighing on current-account balances in the region.”