Rebound Expected For Indonesia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market on Thursday ended the two-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 90 points or 1.2 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 7,170-point plateau although it figures to bounce higher again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian bourses is positive after interest rate concerns resulted in oversold markets. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets are tipped to open in similar fashion.

The JCI finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the financials and cement companies, while the resource stocks were mixed.

For the day, the index dipped 20.50 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 7,174.21.

Among the actives, Bank Danamon Indonesia retreated 1.14 percent, while Bank CIMB Niaga dropped 0.87 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia dipped 0.30 percent, Bank Central Asia strengthened 1.57 percent, Bank Mandiri shed 0.58 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia lost 0.47 percent, Indocement stumbled 1.58 percent, Semen Indonesia fell 0.38 percent, Indofood Suskes slumped 1.13 percent, United Tractors advanced 1.00 percent, Astra International skidded 1.06 percent, Energi Mega Persada surged 4.50 percent, Astra Agro Lestari declined 1.09 percent, Aneka Tambang sank 0.75 percent, Bumi Resources skyrocketed 16.78 percent and Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, Vale Indonesia and Timah were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened mixed on Thursday but quickly turned higher and maintained a largely positive bias throughout the day, ending near session highs.

The Dow spiked 322.55 points or 0.98 percent to finish at 33,291.78, while the NASDAQ surged 207.74 points or 1.67 percent to end at 12,639.27 and the S&P 500 jumped 58.35 points or 1.41 percent to end at 4,199.12.

The strength that emerged on Wall Street came as traders looked ahead to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech in the Jackson Hole Symposium later today.

Powell is widely expected to reiterate the central bank's hawkish stance, given the expectations that inflation in the U.S. will be persistent and it will take time to contain it. That has already largely been priced into the markets, however.

On the economic front, the Labor Department said the U.S. economy contracted an annualized 0.6 percent in the second quarter, following a 1.6 percent drop a quarter earlier. Also, the Labor Department said initial jobless claims dropped more than expected last week.

Crude oil futures settled lower Thursday, after posting gains in the previous two sessions. Oil prices fell as traders weighed the prospects for the return of Iranian oil to the market. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures ended lower by $2.37 or 2.5 percent at $92.52 a barrel.