Soft Start Predicted For Indonesia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market on Wednesday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had accelerated more than 120 points or 1.8 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just above the 6,850-point plateau and it's expected to open under pressure again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft amid concerns over the health of the world economy and the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The JCI finished sharply lower on Wednesday following food and cement stocks, while the resource companies and financials were mixed.

For the day, the index slumped 72.51 points or 1.05 percent to finish at 6,850.52.

Among the actives, Bank Danamon Indonesia retreated 1.43 percent, while Bank CIMB Niaga sank 0.83 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia weakened 0.81 percent, Bank Central Asia collected 0.58 percent, Bank Mandiri rose 0.25 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia skidded 1.03 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison declined 1.64 percent, Indocement lost 0.50 percent, Indofood Suskes slumped 1.10 percent, United Tractors tumbled 1.69 percent, Astra International dropped 0.88 percent, Energi Mega Persada plummeted 3.31 percent, Astra Agro Lestari shed 0.62 percent, Aneka Tambang climbed 1.01 percent, Timah fell 0.43 percent, Bumi Resources plunged 2.38 percent and Semen Indonesia and Vale Indonesia were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages shook off a slightly higher open on Wednesday, quickly heading south and finishing firmly in the red.

The Dow tumbled 365.85 points or 1.10 percent to finish at 32,875.71, while the NASDAQ slumped 139.94 points or 1.35 percent to close at 10,213.29 and the S&P 500 sank 46.03 points or 1.20 percent to end at 3,783.22.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street partly reflected ongoing concerns about the economic outlook and the possibility of higher interest rates leading to a recession.

However, with many traders away from their desks amid the holidays, the sell-off on Wall Street may have been exaggerated by below average volume.

In economic news, the National Association of Realtors reported a continued slump in U.S. pending home sales in November.

Crude oil prices dropped Wednesday on concerns about the outlook for energy demand amid fears of a global recession and rising COVID-19 cases in China. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended down $0.57 or 0.7 percent at $78.86 a barrel.