Soft Start Anticipated For Indonesia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market on Friday halted the two-day losing streak in which it had slipped more than 25 points or 0.4 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just beneath the 6,820-point plateau although it figures to turn lower again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower as inflation concerns war with support from oil stocks. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The JCI finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the resource and cement stocks, while the financials came in mixed.

For the day, the index was up 32.97 points or 0.49 percent to finish at 6,818.57.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga fell 0.38 percent, while Bank Mandiri jumped 1.95 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia collected 0.27 percent, Bank Central Asia advanced 0.84 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia accelerated 1.91 percent, Indocement improved 0.74 percent, Semen Indonesia added 0.41 percent, Indofood Suskes gathered 0.40 percent, United Tractors tumbled 2.66 percent, Astra International sank 0.80 percent, Energi Mega Persada retreated 1.67 percent, Astra Agro Lestari rose 0.32 percent, Aneka Tambang dropped 0.94 percent, Vale Indonesia surged 3.14 percent, Timah rallied 2.05 percent, Bumi Resources climbed 0.84 percent and Bank Danamon Indonesia and Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages shook off early support on Friday, quickly heading south and staying in the red throughout the day.

The Dow tumbled 143.23 points or 0.42 percent to finish at 33,886.47, while the NASDAQ sank 42.83 points or 0.35 percent to close at 12,123.47 and the S&P 500 fell 8.58 points or 0.21 percent to end at 4,137.64. For the week, the Dow jumped 1.2 percent, the S&P 500 added 0.8 percent and the NASAQ rose 0.3 percent.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street coincided with the release of a report from the University of Michigan showing a jump in inflation expectations in the month of April.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said retail sales fell more than expected in March, while the Federal Reserve said U.S. industrial production increased more than expected in March, although the increase was largely due to a spike in utilities output.

Crude oil futures settled modestly higher Friday, lifted by the International Energy Agency's forecast that global crude demand will grow to a record 101.9 million barrels per day this year. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May rose $0.36 or 0.4 percent at $82.52 a barrel.

Closer to home, Indonesia will release March figures for imports, exports and trade balance later today. Imports are expected to sink 14.45 percent on year after shedding 4.32 percent in February. Exports are called lower by an annual 15.0 percent after rising 4.51 percent in the previous month. The trade surplus is pegged at 3.99 billion, down from 5.48 billion a month earlier.