Losing Streak May Continue For Indonesia Shares

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, shedding more than 160 points or 2.1 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just above the 7,160-point plateau and it may extend its losses again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were own and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The JCI finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares, resource stocks and cement companies.

For the day, the index sank 53.30 points or 0.74 percent to finish at 7,161.26 after trading between 7,122.68 and 7,241.66.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga collected 0.28 percent, while Bank Mandiri fell 0.39 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia sank 0.81 percent, Bank Central Asia improved 0.74 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia shed 0.67 percent, Bank Maybank Indonesia tumbled 1.80 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison advanced 0.89 percent, Semen Indonesia tanked 2.48 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur rose 0.32 percent, United Tractors rallied 2.21 percent, Astra International dipped 0.20 percent, Energi Mega Persada plummeted 6.62 percent, Astra Agro Lestari lost 0.38 percent, Aneka Tambang plunged 5.41 percent, Jasa Marga eased 0.22 percent, Vale Indonesia was up 0.26 percent, Timah retreated 1.50 percent, Bumi Resources tumbled 7.45 percent and Bank Danamon Indonesia and Indocement were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened lower on Friday and only weakened further as the day progressed.

The Dow plunged 305.87 points or 0.70 percent to finish at 43,444.99, while the NASDAQ plummeted 427.53 points or 2.24 percent to close at 18,680.12 and the S&P 500 dropped 78.55 points or 1.32 percent to end at 5,870.62. For the week, the NASDAQ shed 3.2 percent, the S&P sank 2.1 percent and the Dow fell 1.2 percent.

The sell-off on Wall Street came amid concerns about the outlook for interest rates following Federal Reserve Chair Powell's recent remarks suggesting the central bank doesn't need to hurry to lower rates. Citing the strength of the U.S. economy, Powell said the Fed can take a careful approach to future monetary policy decisions.

Potentially adding to concerns economic strength will lead the Fed to hold off on future rate cuts, the Commerce Department released a report showing retail sales increased by slightly more than expected in October.

Oil futures plummeted Friday on concerns about the outlook for demand, recent data showing an increase in U.S. crude inventories and a stronger dollar. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December sank $1.68 or 2.45 percent at $67.02 a barrel; they shed 5 percent in the week.