Indonesia Bourse May Extend Wednesday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market on Wednesday ended the two-day slide in which it had fallen almost 30 points or 0.4 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just beneath the 8,390-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over the end of the U.S. government shutdown. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The JCI finished modestly higher on Wednesday as gains from the financial shares were offset by weakness from the resource stocks. For the day, the index added 22.05 points or 0.26 percent to finish at 8,388.57 after trading between 8,377.50 and 8,428.95. Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga collected 0.29 percent, while Bank Mandiri strengthened 1.71 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia advanced 0.90 percent, Bank Central Asia expanded 1.19 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia rose 0.26 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison tumbled 2.70 percent, Indocement slumped 2.24 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur jumped 1.77 percent, United Tractors rallied 1.25 percent, Astra International skidded 1.15 percent, Energi Mega Persada plunged 3.72 percent, Astra Agro Lestari climbed 1.28 percent, Vale Indonesia surrendered 2.27 percent, Timah tanked 2.32 percent, Bumi Resources stumbled 3.03 percent and Aneka Tambang, Semen Indonesia and Bank Danamon Indonesia were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is contradictory as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday but took different paths to finish mixed and little changed.

The Dow jumped 326.86 points or 0.68 percent to finish at 48,254.82, while the NASDAQ slipped 61.84 points or 0.26 percent to close at 23,406.46 and the S&P 500 rose 4.31 points or 0.06 percent to end at 6,850.92.

The continued advance by the Dow came amid strong gains by UnitedHealth (UNH), Goldman Sachs (GS) and Cisco Systems (CSCO). But continued decline by the tech-heavy NASDAQ reflected lingering valuation concerns.

Traders also kept an eye on developments in Washington, where the House of Representatives will vote on a bill ending the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

After the Senate voted Monday to approve the bill extending funding for most agencies until January 30, the House is set to vote on the legislation within the next few hours.

Crude oil prices plummeted on Wednesday after OPEC's monthly report suggested that global supply now exceeds demand by about 500,000 barrels per day. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery was down $2.62 or 4.31 percent at $58.40 per barrel.