Indonesia Shares Figure To Remain Rangebound

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last eight trading days since the end of the five-day losing streak in which it had tumbled more than 220 points or 3.1 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 7,225-point plateau although it's expected to bounce higher again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on earnings expectations and news. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow the latter lead.

The JCI finished modestly lower on Friday as the financial shares and resource stocks were mostly in the red.

For the day, the index lost 25.57 points or 0.35 percent to finish at 7,227.40 after trading between 7,170.81 and 7,277.98.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga sank 0.57 percent, while Bank Danamon Indonesia fell 0.35 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia dropped 0.90 percent, Bank Central Asia lost 0.52 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia advanced 0.87 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison dipped 0.25 percent, Indocement rose 0.27 percent, Indofood Suskes climbed 1.18 percent, United Tractors eased 0.10 percent, Astra International shed 0.47 percent, Energi Mega Persada plunged 2.52 percent, Aneka Tambang rallied 1.54 percent, Vale Indonesia retreated 1.21 percent, Timah jumped 1.59 percent, Bumi Resources tumbled 2.08 percent and Bank Mandiri, Astra Agro Lestari and Semen Indonesia were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened slightly higher on Friday but accelerated throughout the day, sending the S&P and Dow to record closing highs.

The Dow jumped 395.20 points or 1.05 percent to finish at 37,863.80, while the NASDAQ surged 255.37 points or 1.70 percent to end at 15,310.97 and the S&P 500 rallied 58.87 points or 1.23 percent to close at 4,839.81.

For the holiday-shortened week, the NASDAQ soared 2.3 percent, the S&P 500 shot up 1.2 percent and the Dow advanced by 0.7 percent.

The run to record highs on Wall Street reflected continued strength among tech stocks ahead of this week's earning news from companies like Intel (INTC), IBM Corp. (IBM) and Netflix (NFLX).

Meanwhile, the Dow received a boost from a surge by shares of Travelers (TRV), with the insurance giant spiking by 6.7 after the company reported Q4 earnings that exceeded estimates.

Economic data also fueled the rally after the University of Michigan released a report showing a significant improvement in U.S. consumer sentiment and a continued decrease in inflation expectations.

Crude oil prices turned lower on Friday, reflecting profit taking after recent gains while traders also weighed concerns about Middle East tensions against uncertainty about the outlook for global demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude for February delivery fell $0.67 or 0.9 percent to $73.41 a barrel. The more actively trade March contract slumped $0.70 or 1.0 percent to $73.25 a barrel.