Soft Start Seen For Indonesia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market on Thursday ended the four-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 85 points or 1.3 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just above the 6,700-point plateau and it may be stuck in neutral on Friday.

The global forecast is murky, with support from technology stocks likely offset by concern over the ongoing U.S. debt ceiling situation. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The JCI finished modestly lower on Thursday following weakness from the resource stocks and mixed performances from the financials and cement companies.

For the day, the index shed 41.57 points or 0.62 percent to finish at 6,704.23 after trading between 6,702.53 and 6,747.87.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga sank 0.70 percent, while Bank Mandiri jumped 1.97 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia spiked 1.98 percent, Bank Central Asia collected 0.28 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia surrendered 2.23 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison strengthened 1.38 percent, Indocement perked 0.25 percent, Semen Indonesia lost 0.42 percent, Indofood Suskes rallied 2.16 percent, United Tractors plunged 4.47 percent, Astra International skidded 1.12 percent, Energi Mega Persada plummeted 6.25 percent, Astra Agro Lestari shed 0.67 percent, Aneka Tambang fell 0.26 percent, Vale Indonesia slumped 1.13 percent, Timah tumbled 5.38 percent, Bumi Resources tanked 3.54 percent and Bank Danamon Indonesia was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is inconsistent as the major averages opened mixed on Thursday and finished the same way.

The Dow shed 35.27 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 32,764.65, while the NASDAQ surged 213.93 points or 1.71 percent to end at 12,698.09 and the S&P 500 gained 36/04 points or 0.88 percent to close at 4,151.28.

The rebound on Wall Street reflected strong earnings news from Nvidia (NVDA), which reported better than expected results and forecasting Q2 revenue well above estimates - resulting in a surge by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

Traders also kept an eye on any developments in the U.S. debt ceiling negotiations amid lingering concerns about a potential default. Reflecting the default concerns, Fitch Ratings placed the United States "AAA" credit on "rating watch negative," signaling downside risks to U.S. creditworthiness.

In economic news, a revision from the Commerce Department showed economic growth in the U.S. slowed less than estimated in the first quarter of 2023. Also, the Labor Department showed a modest increase in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week.

Crude oil prices fell sharply Thursday, snapping a three-day winning streak, after Russia's Deputy Prime Minister said Russia won't agree on any additional cut in crude production. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended down $2.51 or 3.4 percent at $71.83 a barrel.