Indonesia Shares May Find Traction On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has moved lower in two straight sessions, shedding almost 80 points or 1.1 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just beneath the 7,180-point plateau although it may find support on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on solid economic data and a spike in crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The JCI finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares and resource stocks, while the cement companies were mixed.

For the day, the index dropped 49.78 points or 0.69 percent to finish at 7,178.04.

Among the actives, Bank Mandiri skidded 1.17 percent, while Bank Danamon Indonesia declined 1.07 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia slid 0.46 percent, Bank Central Asia collected 0.26 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia shed 0.44 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison rose 0.22 percent, Indocement dropped 0.81 percent, Semen Indonesia soared 2.90 percent, United Tractors rallied 2.55 percent, Astra International lost 0.49 percent and Indofood Suskes was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher, gave ground midday but still finished well in the green.

The Dow jumped 242.74 points or 0.64 percent to finish at 38,049.13, while the NASDAQ added 28.58 points or 0.18 percent to close at 15,510.50 and the S&P 500 rose 25.61 points or 0.53 percent to end at a fresh record high of 4,894.16.

The early strength on Wall Street came following the release of a Commerce Department report showing stronger than expected U.S. economic growth as well as a slowdown in the pace of inflation in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Buying interest waned over the course of the session, however, as traders looked ahead to Friday's report on personal income and spending, which could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates.

Oil prices rose sharply on Thursday, continuing to benefit from Wednesday's data showing a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventory. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March surged $2.27 or 3 percent at $77.36 a barrel.