07/08/2009 (The Jakarta Herald) - Indonesian stocks gained for a third day on Friday as energy companies and palm oil producers surged.

The Jakarta Composite Index rose 15.65 points, 0.5 percent, to close at 3060.59. Some 3.7 billion shares worth Rp 3.7 trillion ($414 million) changed hands. Gainers outnumbered decliners 101 to 62.

Palm oil producers continue to gain as the commodity hit its highest level in almost five months. Astra Agro Lestari, the nation’s biggest listed plantation company by market value, rose 1 percent after surging 8.6 percent on Thursday. Perusahaan Perkebunan London Sumatra Indonesia, the second-biggest firm in the sector, rose 2.1 percent.

Another palm oil producer, BW Plantation, rose 1.2 percent. It may seek as much as Rp 700 billion to help fund expansion by selling bonds in the fourth quarter or seeking bank loans, Investor Daily Indonesia reported, citing company director Iman Faturachman. Palm oil futures gained as much as 2.9 percent to 2,695 ringgit ($857) a metric ton in Kuala Lumpur before trading at 2,642 ringgit.

Medco Energi Internasional, the nation’s biggest listed oil company, jumped 9.1 percent, the steepest gain since August 2009, after Sugiharto Harsoprayitno, geothermal director at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, said Medco has been short-listed to build a geothermal project in North Sumatra.

Meanwhile, Indofood Sukses Makmur tumbled 4.1 percent to Rp 4,150 after it was rated “underperform” with a share-price estimate of Rp 4,300 in a new coverage on Thursday. The stock has become “fully priced” because of speculation ahead of the its plan to spin off a unit, said Macquarie Group analyst Lyall Taylor.

The rupiah advanced for a second week after the central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged to support growth.

The government on Thursday reported gross domestic product rose 6.2 percent from a year earlier in the second quarter, the biggest increase in almost two years and more than the median 6 percent gain forecast in a Bloomberg survey. Bank Indonesia this week kept borrowing costs at a record-low 6.5 percent for a 12th month and the rupiah on Tuesday reached a three-year high of 8,905 per dollar.

“The economic fundamentals are strong and we had very good numbers for the GDP,” said Aris Setiawan, a trader at Bank Chinatrust Indonesia. “The strength of the rupiah against the US dollar is a good factor to contain inflation. The central bank is not telling us at what level it wants its currency to trade.”

The rupiah rose 0.1 percent this week to 8,946 per dollar as of the stock market’s close. It dropped 0.2 percent on Friday.

The currency has gained 5 percent this year, second only to Malaysia’s ringgit among Asian currencies, boosting returns on debt for foreign investors.