Indonesia Bourse May Give Up Support At 7,200 Points

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, stumbling more than 100 points or 1.4 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just beneath the 7,225-point plateau and it's looking at another soft start again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation, especially among the technology and semiconductor companies. The European and U.S. markets were mostly lower and the Asian bourses also figure to follow suit.

The JCI finished barely higher on Wednesday following mixed performances from the cement stocks and resource companies, while the financials offered support.

For the day, the index eased 0.08 points or 0.00 percent to finish at 7,224.22 after trading between 7,207.58 and 7,265.09.

Among the actives, Bank Mandiri rallied 1.57 percent, while Bank Negara Indonesia added 0.40 percent, Bank Central Asia retreated 1.51 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia collected 0.63 percent, Semen Indonesia rose 0.25 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur strengthened 1.68 percent, Astra International jumped 1.83 percent, Vale Indonesia improved 1.58 percent, Jasa Marga tumbled 2.35 percent and United Tractors, Indocement and Bank Danamon Indonesia were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is a study in contrasts as the Dow opened higher and stayed that way, hitting a fresh record high - while the NASDAQ and S&P remained mired in the red.

The Dow soared 243.60 points or 0.59 percent to finish at 41,198.08, while the NASDAQ plummeted 512.42 points or 2.77 percent to close at 17.996.92 and the S&P 500 tumbled 78.93 points or 1.39 percent to end at 5,588.27.

Wall Street was led lower by semiconductor stocks, which plummeted on reports that President Joe Biden's administration is considering tougher trade rules against companies in its chip crackdown on China.

Negative sentiment was also generated after former President Donald Trump suggested Taiwan should pay the U.S. for defense, claiming the country took "about 100 percent" of America's chip business.

In economic news, the Commerce Department noted a significant rebound by new residential construction and building permits in the U.S. in June. A separate report released by the Federal Reserve showed industrial production in the U.S. increased more than expected last month.

Oil prices rose sharply on Wednesday after data showed an unexpected sharp drop in U.S. crude inventories last week, while a weaker dollar also provided support. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August rallied $2.09 or 2.6 percent at $82.85 a barrel.