Indonesia Stock Market May Challenge Resistance At 6,900 Points

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has finished higher in back-to-back sessions, gathering more than 130 points or 1.9 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just beneath the 6,840-point plateau and it's expected to open higher again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive, with strength expected from the technology and banking stocks. The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The JCI finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares and resource stocks.

For the day, the index rallied 79.11 points or 1.17 percent to finish at 6,839.44.

Among the actives, Bank Danamon Indonesia collected 1.40 percent, while Bank CIMB Niaga rose 0.40 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia increased 1.94 percent, Bank Central Asia strengthened 3.47 percent, Bank Mandiri climbed 2.22 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia added 0.84 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison fell 0.36 percent, Indocement dropped 0.93 percent, Indofood Suskes lost 0.39 percent, United Tractors rallied 1.92 percent, Astra International and Energi Mega Persada both advanced 1.71 percent, Astra Agro Lestari gained 1.25 percent, Aneka Tambang spiked 4.26 percent, Vale Indonesia improved 1.15 percent, Timah accelerated 2.04 percent, Bumi Resources plunged 2.92 percent and Semen Indonesia was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened sharply higher and stayed that way throughout the session.

The Dow jumped 323.35 points or 1.00 percent to finish at 32,717.60, while the NASDAQ surged 210.16 points or 1.79 percent to end at 11,926.24 and the S&P 500 spiked 56.54 points or 1.42 percent to end at 4,027.81.

The rally on Wall Street reflected a rebound by technology stocks, with the tech-heavy NASDAQ recovering from the pullback seen early in the week to hit its best closing level in over a month.

Semiconductor stocks led the recovery in the tech sector, driving the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up 3.3 percent. Considerable strength was also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 2.9 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.

The markets also benefited from a continued easing of concerns about contagion from the recent turmoil in the banking sector.

Oil futures failed to hold early gains and ended modestly lower on Wednesday, despite data showing a drop in crude stockpiles last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May faded $0.23 or 0.3 percent at $72.97 a barrel, coming off a high of $74.37 a barrel.