20/10/2011 (Jakarta Globe) - Stocks rebounded on Wednesday amid expectations of positive corporate earnings reports in the next couple of weeks and on good news out of Europe.

The benchmark Jakarta Composite Index gained 63.28 points, or 1.8 percent, to close at 3,685.31, recouping some of the 2.9 percent decline on Tuesday.

About 6.81 billion shares valued at Rp 4.88 trillion were traded on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. Gainers outnumbered decliners by 199 to 29. Foreign investors bought Rp 211 billion ($24 million) more in shares than they sold.

“Earnings results in the third quarter this year are expected to be higher than the same period last year and compared to the second quarter,” said Mastono Ali, an analyst at CIMB Securities Indonesia. “This improved domestic sentiment.”

Semen Gresik, the country’s biggest cement producer, jumped 5.3 percent to Rp 9,000.

Dwi Sutjipto, president director of Semen Gresik, said profit in the nine months to September rose by 10 percent from the same period last year, while revenue climbed 12 percent. He declined to provide further details.

Global markets in general were responding positively to the news coming out of Europe, Mastono said.

Reports have said that France and Germany have agreed to increase the rescue plan for Greece to 2 trillion euros.

Astra Agro Lestari, the largest listed palm oil producer in Indonesia, climbed 3.2 percent to Rp 19,600 while another palm producer, Sampoerna Agro, was up 2.6 percent to Rp 2,975.

The agribusiness sector as whole climbed 1.9 percent after crude palm oil for the three-month contract rose 2 percent at Bursa Malaysia.

The rupiah rebounded slightly, up 0.1 percent at 8,855 against the dollar.