Indonesia Stock Market Tipped To Open In The Red

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market on Friday ended the five-day losing streak in which it had fallen more than 170 points or 2.6 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just above the 7,040-point plateau although it's looking at another soft start again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower on recession fears and the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the oversold Asian bourses figure to split the difference.

The JCI finished barely higher on Friday following gains from the resource stocks, weakness from the cement companies and a mixed picture from the financial sector.

For the day, the index perked 4.60 points or 0.07 percent to finish at 7,040.80.

Among the actives, Bank Danamon Indonesia fell 0.39 percent, while Bank Central Asia rallied 2.09 percent, Bank Mandiri jumped 1.89 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia collected 0.22 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison retreated 1.36 percent, Indocement plunged 2.31 percent, Semen Indonesia slid 0.33 percent, United Tractors dropped 0.91 percent, Astra International tanked 2.21 percent, Energi Mega Persada gained 0.79 percent, Astra Agro Lestari declined 1.79 percent, Aneka Tambang climbed 1.04 percent, Vale Indonesia spiked 2.40 percent, Timah accelerated 1.91 percent, Bumi Resources surged 3.01 percent and Bank CIMB Niaga, Indofood Suskes and Bank Negara Indonesia were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages hugged the line through the first half of Friday's trade but headed firmly south in the afternoon, closing near daily lows.

The Dow plummeted 500.09 points or 1.71 percent to finish at 28,725.51, while the NASDAQ tumbled 161.88 points or 1.51 percent to close at 10.575.62 and the S&P 500 dropped 54.85 points or 1.51 percent to end at 3,585.62.

For the week, the NASDAQ dove 2.7 percent, while the Dow and the S&P 500 both plunged 2.9 percent. The major averages also posted steep losses for the month and the quarter.

The extended sell-off on Wall Street reflected lingering concerns about the global economic outlook amid aggressive interest rate hikes by central banks around the world.

Adding to the negative sentiment, a reading on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve showed an acceleration in the pace of core consumer price growth in August. The faster rate of price growth may lead the Fed to maintain is aggressive stance regarding future rate hikes.

Crude oil futures failed to hold early gains and settled lower on Friday as worries about the outlook for energy demand weighed on prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended lower by $1.74 or 2.1 percent at $79.49 a barrel.

Closer to home, Indonesia will release September figures for consumer prices later today, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 1.26 percent on month and 6.0 percent on year after slipping 0.21 percent on month and rising 4.69 percent on year in August. Core CPI is called higher by 3.6 percent on year, up from 3.04 percent in the previous month.