Higher Open Called For Indonesia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, gathering almost 140 points or 2 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 7,000-point plateau and it's looking at a steady start again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, with support expected from airline, steel and financial stocks. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The JCI finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares and resource stocks.

For the day, the index advanced 61.45 points or 0.88 percent to finish at 7,005.37 after trading between 6,955.46 and 7,013.63.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga rose 0.29 percent, while Bank Mandiri rallied 2.34 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia spiked 2.75 percent, Bank Central Asia collected 1.18 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia surged 5.16 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison added 0.48 percent, Indocement shed 0.46 percent, Semen Indonesia improved 0.73 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur fell 0.31 percent, United Tractors climbed 1.02 percent, Astra International sank 0.85 percent, Energi Mega Persada gained 0.57 percent, Astra Agro Lestari picked up 0.43 percent, Aneka Tambang accelerated 2.40 percent, Vale Indonesia jumped 1.51 percent, Timah strengthened 1.46 percent, Bumi Resources dropped 0.87 percent and Bank Danamon Indonesia was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened lower on Thursday but gradually moved higher over the course of the day to end with small gains.

The Dow climbed 192.34 points or 0.43 percent to finish at 44,650.64, while the NASDAQ rose 19.33 points or 0.09 percent to close at 20,630.66 and the S&P 500 added 17.20 points or 0.27 percent to end at 6,280.46.

The higher close on Wall Street came despite ongoing uncertainty about President Donald Trump's trade policies as he continues to threaten higher tariffs on various sectors and countries.

On the economic front, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly edged lower last week.

Crude oil prices fell on Thursday amid concerns about a supply increase for August by OPEC, the huge crude stock inventory in the United States and intensifying U.S. tariff pressures. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery tumbled $1.81 to settle at $66.57 per barrel.