Indonesia Bourse May Extend Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has tracked lower in two straight sessions, slipping almost 10 points or 0.15 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just beneath the 7,045-point plateau although it's expected to open lower again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with technology stocks expected to fall under strong selling pressure. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The JCI finished barely lower on Wednesday following mixed performances from the financial shares and resource stocks.

For the day, the index dipped 4.44 points or 0.06 percent to finish at 7,043.94.

Among the actives, Bank Danamon Indonesia retreated 1.59 percent, while Bank CIMB Niaga collected 0.44 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia plunged 2.12 percent, Bank Central Asia declined 1.72 percent, Bank Mandiri dipped 0.24 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia slumped1.31 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison tanked 3.38 percent, Indocement strengthened 1.37 percent, Indofood Suskes rallied 2.02 percent, United Tractors soared 3.75 percent, Astra International tumbled 1.87 percent, Energi Mega Persada skyrocketed 17.01 percent, Astra Agro Lestari jumped 1.79 percent, Aneka Tambang spiked 2.26 percent, Vale Indonesia rose 0.37 percent, Timah surged 2.62 percent, Bumi Resources shed 0.53 percent and Semen Indonesia was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday, saw some strength midday but headed south as the day progressed.

The Dow managed a slight gain of 2.37 points or 0.01 percent to 31,839.11, while the NASDAQ plunged 228.12 points or 2.04 percent to close at 10.970.99 and the S&P 500 sank 28.51 points or 0.74 percent to end at 3,830.60.

The steep drop by the NASDAQ came amid a negative reaction to disappointing earnings news from tech giants Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet (GOOGL).

On the other hand, the slight uptick by the Dow came amid a strong gain by shares of Visa (V), which 4.6 percent after reporting better than expected third quarter results.

In economic news, the Commerce Department reported that new home sales in the U.S. pulled back sharply in September after unexpectedly skyrocketing in August, although the decrease was smaller than expected.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday, buoyed by data showing a drop in gasoline stockpiles and a weak U.S. dollar. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December spiked $2.59 or 3 percent at $87.91 a barrel.