Indonesia Shares May Open Under Pressure Again On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market on Thursday ended the two-day winning streak in which it had picked up more than 100 points or 1.4 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 7,155-point plateau and it's looking at another soft start again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is sift on concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

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

For the day, the index shed 19.24 points or 0.27 percent to finish at 7,155.29 after trading between 7,132.10 and 7,177.06.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga sank 0.80 percent, while Bank Mandiri retreated 1.42 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia skidded 1.08 percent, Bank Central Asia tumbled 1.76 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia slumped 1.44 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison gained 0.67 percent, Indocement shed 0.62 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur rallied 2.48 percent, United Tractors tanked 2.41 percent, Astra International advanced 0.81 percent, Energi Mega Persada plunged 4.61 percent, Astra Agro Lestari fell 0.38 percent, Aneka Tambang plummeted 5.36 percent, Vale Indonesia stumbled 2.61 percent, Timah cratered 14.72 percent, Bumi Resources surrendered 2.93 percent and Perusahaan Perseroan, Semen Indonesia, Jasa Marga and Bank Negara Indonesia were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and remained solidly in the red throughout the session.

The Dow plunged 375.12 points or 0.98 percent to finish at 38,085.80, while the NASDAQ tumbled 100.99 points or 0.64 percent to close at 15,611.76 and the S&P 500 sank 23.21 points or 0.46 percent to end at 5,048.42.

A negative reaction to earnings news from Meta Platforms (META) and tech giant IBM Corp. (IBM) contributed to the early sell-off on Wall Street.

In economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing the U.S. economy grew by much less than expected in the first quarter of 2024. Also, the Commerce Department said the personal consumption expenditures price index climbed more than expected.

Both of those economic results were bad news for investors as they damaged the likelihood of an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve in the near future.

Crude oil futures settled higher on Thursday, recovering from recent losses, despite data showing slower than expected U.S. first-quarter GDP growth. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended higher by $0.76 or about 0.92% at $83.57 a barrel.