Higher Open Anticipated For Indonesia Shares

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has tracked lower in two straight sessions, stumbling more than 70 points or 1 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just beneath the 6,925-point plateau and it's predicted to halt its slide on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, with bargain hunting expected to support the more oversold bourses. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets figure to open in similar fashion.

The JCI finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the financials, gains from the cement companies and a mixed picture from the resource stocks.

For the day, the index sank 30.03 points or 0.43 percent to finish at 6,924.78.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga fell 0.29 percent, while Bank Mandiri collected 0.43 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia retreated 1.35 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia slumped 1.32 percent, Bank Central Asia shed 0.54 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia tumbled 1.83 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison climbed 1.03 percent, Indocement improved 1.17 percent, Semen Indonesia increased 0.73 percent, Indofood Suskes slipped 0.36 percent, United Tractors gained 0.55 percent, Energi Mega Persada stumbled 1.47 percent, Astra Agro Lestari declined 1.32 percent, Aneka Tambang lost 0.51 percent, Vale Indonesia tanked 2.08 percent, Bumi Resources gathered 0.70 percent and Astra International, Timah and Perusahaan Gas Negara were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened in the green on Friday and spent all of the day in positive territory, although they ended well off session highs.

The Dow gained 75.89 points or 0.22 percent to finish at 34,576.59, while the NASDAQ rose 12.73 points or 0.09 percent to close at 13,761.53 and the S&P 500 gained 6.35 points or 0.14 percent to end at 4,457.49. For the week, the NASDAQ tumbled 1.9 percent, the S&P 500 slumped 1.3 percent and the Dow slid 0.8 percent.

The modest strength on Wall Street partly reflected bargain hunting, as some traders pick up stocks at reduced levels following recent weakness. The uptick by the NASDAQ snapped a four-day losing streak.

Some traders may also have felt concerns about the outlook for interest rates, which contributed to the recent weakness, have been overdone.

While recent economic data has led to worries the Federal Reserve may leave rates higher for longer than previously anticipated, the central bank is still widely expected to keep rates unchanged later this month.

Crude oil prices climbed on Friday amid concerns about tightening oil supplies following Russia and Saudi Arabia's decision last week to extend their supply cut to the end of the year. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October rose $0.64 or 0.7 percent at $87.51 a barrel.