Indonesia Shares Called Rangebound On Monday

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had gathered more than 35 points or 0.5 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 6,850-point plateau and it's expected to hold steady in that neighborhood again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky after inconsistent U.S. employment data. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The JCI finished modestly lower on Friday following mixed performances from the financial shares and cement companies.

For the day, the index was down 45.24 points or 0.66 percent to finish at 6,852.84.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga rallied 2.40 percent, while Bank Mandiri shed 0.43 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia skidded 1.00 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia collected 0.56 percent, Bank Central Asia skidded 1.08 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia plunged 2.19 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison retreated 1.67 percent, Semen Indonesia tanked 2.08 percent, United Tractors gained 0.64 percent, Astra International fell 0.37 percent, Energi Mega Persada advanced 0.88 percent, Aneka Tambang added 0.50 percent, Timah improved 0.55 percent and Bumi Resources, Indocement, Astra Agro Lestari, Indofood Suskes and Vale Indonesia were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened higher on Friday and spent most of the day in the green before late selling pressure saw them finish slightly under water.

The Dow dropped 150.28 points or 0.43 percent to finish at 35,0.65.62, while the NASDAQ lost 50.46 points or 0.36 percent to close at 13,909.24 and the S&P 500 sank 23.86 points or 0.53 percent to end at 4,478.03.

For the week, the Dow slumped 1.1 percent, the S&P 500 tumbled 2.3 percent and the NASDAQ plunged 2.9 percent.

The volatility on Wall Street came after the Labor Department released a report showing that employment in the U.S. increased less than expected in July, although the jobless rate surprisingly ticked lower.

Following the mixed report, most economists still expect another pause in interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve next month, although the data has led to some uncertainty about the outlook for rates beyond that.

Crude oil prices climbed higher Friday, extending recent gains amid tightening supply issues after Saudi Arabia and Russia pledged to cut output through next month. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended higher by $1.27 at $82.82 a barrel.

Closer to home, Indonesia will release Q2 numbers for gross domestic product later today, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 3.72 percent on quarter and 4.93 percent on year. That follows the 0.92 percent quarterly contraction and the 5.03 percent yearly gain in the first quarter.