Astra International Recommendation Buy, CLSA Coverage

PT Astra International (ASII IJ), the nation’s biggest automotive retailer, gained 2.5 percent to 52,550 rupiah, providing the biggest boost to the composite index. Astra was rated “buy” in new coverage at CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets. 

Astra’s automotive earnings will still grow and the company, whose units also produce palm oil and coal, will also benefit from rising commodity prices, Sarina Lesmina and Dewi Kusuma, CLSA analysts, wrote in a report dated Dec. 20.