No Help Yet For Indonesia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has finished lower in five straight sessions, sinking more than 350 points or 4.7 percent in that span. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just above the 7,100-point plateau and it figures to open under pressure again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests major consolidation on the deteriorating outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were sharply lower and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The JCI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the food and financial shares, while the resource companies were mixed.

For the day, the index slumped 49.86 points or 0.70 percent to finish at 7,107.88 after trading between 7,105.07 and 7,216.88.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga dipped 0.29 percent, while Bank Mandiri stumbled 2.10 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia sank 0.78 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia dropped 0.89 percent, Bank Central Asia skidded 1.01 percent, Bank Maybank Indonesia retreated 1.87 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison plunged 4.71 percent, Semen Indonesia rallied 2.74 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur surrendered 2.80 percent, United Tractors perked 0.10 percent, Astra International added 0.40 percent, Energi Mega Persada advanced 0.85 percent, Astra Agro Lestari declined 1.22 percent, Aneka Tambang rose 0.33 percent, Jasa Marga tumbled 2.79 percent, Vale Indonesia eased 0.27 percent, Timah soared 3.24 percent, Bumi Resources slumped 2.22 percent and Bank Rakyat Indonesia and Indocement were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is brutal as the major averages opened flat on Wednesday and stayed that way for most of the session before plummeting after the FOMC's interest rate statement.

The Dow crashed 1,123.03 points or 2.58 percent to finish at 42,326.87, while the NASDAQ tanked 716.37 points or 3.56 percent to close at 19,392.69 and the S&P 500 sank 178.45 points or 2.95 percent to end at 5,872.16.

The sell-off on Wall Street came after the Federal Reserve announced its widely expected decision to lower interest rates by a quarter-point but forecast fewer than previously estimated rate cuts next year.

With the rate cut almost universally expected, the focus of the announcement was on Fed officials' latest economic projections. The latest projections suggest rates will be in a range of 3.75 to 4.0 percent by the end of 2025 compared to the range of 3.25 to 3.50 percent forecast in September.

Assuming the Fed lowers rates by a quarter-point, the projections point to just two rate cuts next year compared to the four previously forecast as Fed officials expect inflation to come in hotter than previously estimated in 2025.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday, rebounding from recent losses after data showed a drop in crude inventories and an increase in gasoline stockpiles last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January closed up $0.50 or 0.71 percent at $70.58 a barrel.