Lower Open Called For Indonesia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, advancing almost 225 points or 2.9 percent in that span. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just above the 7,850-point plateau although it may spin its wheels on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with geopolitical concerns in the Middle East likely to weigh. The European and U.S. markets were mostly lower and the Asian markets figure to open in similar fashion.

The JCI finished sharply higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares, cement companies and resource stocks.

For the day, the index rallied 106.16 points or 1.37 percent to finish at 7,854.06 after trading between 7,790.79 and 7,854.81.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga collected 0.59 percent, while Bank Mandiri improved 0.89 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia sank 0.79 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia rallied 2.26 percent, Bank Central Asia advanced 0.96 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia spiked 2.45 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison shed 0.53 percent, Indocement accelerated 2.51 percent, Semen Indonesia soared 3.24 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur climbed 1.00 percent, United Tractors dipped 0.19 percent, Astra International jumped 2.25 percent, Energi Mega Persada strengthened 2.52 percent, Astra Agro Lestari added 0.68 percent, Aneka Tambang gained 2.95 percent, Vale Indonesia slumped 1.66 percent, Timah surged 4.65 percent and Bumi Resources increased 1.85 percent.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened mixed on Friday and closed on opposite sides of the line.

The Dow dropped 273.78 points or 0.59 percent to finish at 45,834.22, while the NASDAQ gained 98.03 points or 0.44 percent to close at 22,141.10 and the S&P 500 dipped 3.18 points or 0.05 percent to end at 6,584.29.

For the week, the NASDAQ surged 2.0 percent, while the S&P 500 shot up 1.6 percent and the Dow jumped 1.0 percent.

The mixed performance on Wall Street came as traders looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement next Wednesday. With recent data showing relatively subdued inflation and a weakening labor market, the Fed is widely expected to lower interest rates by at least a quarter point.

Traders will pay close attention to the Fed's accompanying statement as well as Fed Chair Jerome Powell's post-meeting comments for clues about the likelihood of more rate cuts. Currently, the Fed is expected to lower rates by another 25 basis points at both its October and December meetings, although Powell is likely to say future rate cuts will depend on incoming economic data.

Crude oil has moved higher Friday as concerns over supply side disruptions linger, with the Russia-Ukraine war intensifying and a new conflict brewing in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $0.31 or 0.50 percent at $62.68 per barrel.