Higher Open Called For Indonesia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market on Wednesday snapped the two-day slide in which it had dropped almost 85 points or 1.3 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 6,665-point plateau and it figures to see continued strength on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on bargain hunting and an improved outlook for interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to follow the former lead.

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

For the day, the index rallied 119.19 points or 1.82 percent to finish at 6,665.04.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga climbed 1.20 percent, while Bank Mandiri accelerated 2.95 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia shed 0.40 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia collected 1.80 percent, Bank Central Asia jumped 2.24 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia spiked 2.64 percent, Bank Maybank Indonesia lost 0.51 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison advanced 0.99 percent, Indocement strengthened 1.30 percent, Semen Indonesia added 0.43 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur rallied 2.75 percent, United Tractors retreated 1.48 percent, Astra International rose 0.21 percent, Astra Agro Lestari sank 0.86 percent, Aneka Tambang jumped 1.64 percent, Jasa Marga soared 3.99 percent, Vale Indonesia tumbled 1.92 percent, Timah dropped 0.51 percent, Bumi Resources slumped 2.02 percent and Energi Mega Persada was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday before dipping and then rebounding to finally end mixed.

The Dow sank 82.55 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 41,350.93, while the NASDAQ rallied 212.35 points or 1.22 percent to close at 17,648.45 and the S&P 500 gained 27.23 points or 0.49 percent to end at 5,599.30.

The early strength on Wall Street followed the release of the closely watched Labor Department report showing consumer prices in the U.S. increased slightly less than expected in February.

The tamer-than-expected inflation data led to some optimism about the Federal Reserve resuming interest rate cuts in the near future.

Buying interest was somewhat subdued, however, as concerns about the impact of new trade policies continue to weigh on the markets.

Oil prices moved higher on Wednesday after data showed a smaller than expected increase in U.S. crude oil inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April closed higher by $1.43 or 2.16 percent at $67.68 a barrel.