Higher Open Predicted For Indonesia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market on Thursday snapped the three-day losing streak in which it had fallen more than 80 points or 1.2 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just shy of the 6,840-point plateau and it's expected to add to its winnings on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with bargain hunting expected after selling and uncertainty earlier in the week. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The JCI finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the financials and mixed performances from the cement and resource stocks.

For the day, the index gained 29.49 points or 0.43 percent to finish at 6,839.45.

Among the actives, Bank Danamon Indonesia rallied 2.10 percent, while Bank CIMB Niaga improved 0.81 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia climbed 1.13 percent, Bank Central Asia gained 0.58 percent, Bank Mandiri collected 0.75 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia gathered 0.84 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison spiked 2.27 percent, Indocement lost 0.67 percent, Semen Indonesia soared 2.69 percent, Indofood Suskes fell 0.38 percent, United Tractors jumped 1.54 percent, Astra International added 0.44 percent, Energi Mega Persada retreated 1.43 percent, Astra Agro Lestari shed 0.60 percent, Aneka Tambang dropped 0.98 percent, Vale Indonesia plunged 2.94 percent, Timah increased 0.42 percent and Bumi Resources strengthened 1.50 percent.

The lead from Wall Street ends up firm as the major averages opened higher on Thursday, slumped midday but rebounded to end firmly in the green.

The Dow climbed 108.82 points or 0.33 percent to finish at 33,153.91, while the NASDAQ jumped 83.33 points or 0.72 percent to close at 11,590.40 and the S&P 500 rose 21.27 points or 0.53 percent to end at 4,012.32.

Buying interest remained somewhat subdued as interest rate concerns continued to hang over the markets following Wednesday's release of the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting.

The Fed minutes offered few surprised but reiterated that the central bank will continue to raise interest rates in its battle against inflation.

In economic news, the Labor Department noted an unexpected dip in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week, while the Commerce Department said the U.S. economy grew by slightly less than estimated Q4 of 2022.

After trending lower in recent sessions, the price of crude oil showed a strong move back to the upside on Thursday, despite a bigger than expected increase in U.S. crude oil inventories. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery spiked $1.44 or 2.0 percent to $75.39 a barrel.