Indonesia Bourse Poised To End Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has finished lower in six straight sessions, plummeting more than 480 points or 5.6 percent in that span. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just above the 6,975-point plateau although it's overdue for support on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets remains murky on concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat, and the Asian markets are expected to follow the latter lead.

The JCI finished sharply lower on Thursday with damage across the board, especially among the financials and food and resource stocks.

For the day, the index tumbled 130.64 points or 1.84 percent to finish at 6,977.24 after trading between 6,951.05 and 7,040.55.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga tanked 3.75 percent, while Bank Mandiri tumbled 2.58 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia fell 0.40 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia retreated 2.71 percent, Bank Central Asia dropped 1.28 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia sank 1.45 percent, Bank Maybank Indonesia stumbled 1.90 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison declined 2.06 percent, Semen Indonesia surrendered 2.96 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur shed 2.24 percent, United Tractors perked 0.10 percent, Astra International slumped 2.40 percent, Energi Mega Persada plummeted 5.88 percent, Astra Agro Lestari lost 2.88 percent, Aneka Tambang was down 2.97 percent, Jasa Marga plunged 3.59 percent, Vale Indonesia crashed 4.00 percent, Timah skidded 5.38 percent, Bumi Resources cratered 7.58 percent and Indocement was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened higher Thursday on bargain hunting but faded as the day progressed, finally ending mixed and little changed.

The Dow rose 15.37 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 42,342.24, while the NASDAQ dipped 19.93 points or 0.10 percent to close at 19,372.77 and the S&P 500 eased 5.08 points or 0.09 percent to end at 5,867.08.

The initial strength on Wall Street came as traders looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels after Wednesday's steep losses, which saw the Dow tumble to its lowest closing level in over a month.

Wednesday's sell-off came after the Federal Reserve announced its widely expected decision to lower interest rates by a quarter-point but forecast rate cuts fewer than expected next year.

Upbeat economic data supported for the Fed's cautious approach to further rate cuts after the Commerce Department said GDP surged more than expected in Q3. Also, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. jobless benefits pulled back more than expected last week.

Crude oil futures were down on Thursday, weighed down by a stronger dollar after the Federal Reserve signaled fewer interest rate cuts next year than had been expected. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for January closed down $0.67 or 0.95 percent at $69.91 a barrel.