Indonesia Stock Market Expected To Remain Rangebound

(RTTNews) - Ahead of the long holiday weekend for the Lunar New Year, the Indonesia stock market had alternated between positive and negative finishes through the previous five trading days since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 70 points or 1 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 7,235-point plateau and it's likely to remain in that neighborhood again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky, with technology stocks expected to provide support while energy shares may weigh. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The JCI finished slightly lower on Wednesday following losses from the resource stocks and a mixed picture from the financial sector.

For the day, the index dipped 12.26 points or 0.17 percent to finish at 7,235.15 after trading between 7,225.45 and 7,285.13.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga added 0.56 percent, while Bank Mandiri rallied 1.46 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia sank 0.71 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia shed 0.43 percent, Bank Central Asia collected 0.78 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia rose 0.43 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison perked 0.26 percent, Indocement tumbled 1.68 percent, Semen Indonesia retreated 1.60 percent, United Tractors gained 0.44 percent, Astra International strengthened 1.43 percent, Energi Mega Persada declined 1.49 percent, Aneka Tambang skidded 1.05 percent, Vale Indonesia slid 0.27 percent, Timah dropped 0.91 percent, Bumi Resources slumped 1.16 percent and Astra Agro Lestari, Indofood Suskes and Perusahaan Gas Negara were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is a mixed bag as the major averages opened Friday on opposite sides of the line and finished the same way.

The Dow shed 54.61 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 38,671.69, while the NASDAQ rallied 196.96 points or 1.25 percent to end at 15,990.66 and the S&P 500 added 28.70 points or 0.57 percent to close at a record 5,026.70.

For the week, the NASDAQ shot up 2.3 percent and the S&P 500 jumped 1.4 percent, while the Dow inched 0.1 percent higher.

The strength on Wall Street reflected a positive reaction to data from the Labor Department showing a modest downward revision to consumer price growth in December, which provided a jolt to tech stocks.

Outside of the tech sector, brokerage and retail stocks saw notable strength, while energy stocks moved to the downside despite a continued increase by the price of crude oil.

Crude oil prices shook off early weakness Friday to finish modestly higher, due to ongoing tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March rose $0.62 at $76.84 a barrel, gaining for a fifth straight session. WTI crude futures jumped 6 percent in the week.