Win Streak May End For Indonesia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market had moved higher in two straight sessions, gathering more than 120 points or 1.8 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just above the 6,910-point plateau although investors figure to cash in on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on renewed concerns over the health of the financial sectors, although support from technology stocks should limit the downside. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The JCI finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares and food companies, while the resource stocks were mixed.

For the day, the index jumped 88.34 points or 1.29 percent to finish at 6,910.15.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga spiked 2.07 percent, while Bank Mandiri and Aneka Tambang both added 0.48 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia fell 0.36 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia collected 1.06 percent, Bank Central Asia improved 0.82 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia jumped 1.52 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison retreated 1.49 percent, Indocement advanced 0.97 percent, Indofood Suskes rallied 2.36 percent, United Tractors climbed 1.05 percent, Astra International soared 4.28 percent, Energi Mega Persada accelerated 2.61 percent, Astra Agro Lestari tumbled 2.54 percent, Timah dropped 0.97 percent and Bumi Resources, Semen Indonesia and Vale Indonesia were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is murky as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday, but the Dow and S&P 500 quickly fell into the red while the NASDAQ stayed positive throughout the day.

The Dow stumbled 228.96 points or 0.68 percent to finish at 33,301.87, while the NASDAQ gained 55.19 points or 0.47 percent to close at 11,854.35 and the S&P 500 fell 15.64 points or 0.38 percent to end at 4,055.99.

The mixed performance on Wall Street came as traders weighed upbeat tech earnings against renewed concerns about turmoil in the banking sector.

The rebound by the NASDAQ reflected a positive reaction to earnings news from Microsoft (MSFT) and Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL), among others.

On the other hand, shares of First Republic (FRC) extended the steep drop seen in the previous session, which came after the regional bank reported a loss of more than $100 billion in deposits in the first quarter, renewing concerns about turmoil in the banking sector.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods surged much more than expected in March amid a substantial rebound in orders for transportation equipment.

Crude oil futures ended sharply lower Wednesday as worries about the outlook for energy demand dragged down oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June were down $2.77 or 3.6 percent to settle at $74.30 a barrel.