Win Streak Likely To End For Indonesia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, collecting more than 100 points or 1.4 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just beneath the 7,220-point plateau although the rally may stall on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, largely due to expectations of profit taking following recent gains. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were sharply lower and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The JCI finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the resource stocks and a mixed bag from the cement and financial companies.

For the day, the index added 31.82 points or 0.44 percent to finish at 7,219.67 after trading between 7,196.24 and 7,237.97.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga rose 0.30 percent, while Bank Mandiri dropped 0.84 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia shed 0.36 percent, Bank Central Asia collected 0.54 percent, Indocement lost 0.54 percent, Semen Indonesia advanced 0.81 percent, Indofood Suskes sank 0.79 percent, United Tractors eased 0.11 percent, Energi Mega Persada surged 2.65 percent, Aneka Tambang fell 0.30 percent, Vale Indonesia jumped 1.68 percent, Timah soared 2.44 percent, Bumi Resources climbed 1.16 percent and Astra International, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, Astra Agro Lestari, Bank Negara Indonesia and Bank Rakyat Indonesia were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages hugged the line for most of Wednesday's session but turned sharply lower heading into the close.

The Dow plunged 475.92 points or 1.27 percent to finish at 37,082.00, while the NASDAQ tumbled 225.28 points or 1.50 percent to close at 14,777.94 and the S&P 500 slumped 70.02 points or 1.47 percent to end at 4,698.36.

The late-day sell-off on Wall Street was largely attributed to profit taking, with traders cashing in on the strong upward move seen in recent sessions.

A steep drop by shares of FedEx (FDX) also weighed on the markets, with the delivery giant plunging by 12.1 percent after the company reported weaker than expected fiscal Q2 results and lowered its full-year revenue guidance.

In economic news, the Conference Board noted a much bigger than expected improvement in U.S. consumer confidence in December, while the National Association of Realtors showed an unexpected rebound in U.S. existing home sales last month.

Oil prices climbed higher Wednesday on concerns about trade disruptions in the Middle East after attacks on vessels in the Red Sea. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended higher by $0.28 or 0.4 percent at $74.22 a barrel.

Closer to home, the central bank in Indonesia will wrap up its monetary policy meeting and then announce its decision on interest rates. The central bank is expected to keep is benchmark lending rate (6.00 percent), lending facility rate (6.75 percent) and deposit facility rate (5.25 percent) all unchanged.