Indonesia Stock Market May Halt Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, stumbling almost 250 points or 3.3 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just above the 7,240-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Friday.

The global forecast is positive after the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points. The European and U.S. markets were mostly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The JCI finished sharply lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares and energy companies, while the cement companies were mixed.

For the day, the index tumbled 140.01 points or 1.90 percent to finish at the daily low of 7,243.86 after peaking at 7,381.76.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga shed 0.55 percent, while Bank Mandiri tumbled 1.91 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia surrendered 1.95 percent, Bank Central Asia tanked 2.63 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia skidded 1.09 percent, Bank Maybank Indonesia dropped 0.90 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison jumped 1.78 percent, Indocement slumped 1.10 percent, Semen Indonesia rose 0.27 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur strengthened 1.28 percent, United Tractors perked 0.09 percent, Astra International sank 0.99 percent, Energi Mega Persada plummeted 8.40 percent, Astra Agro Lestari fell 0.37 percent, Aneka Tambang rallied 2.27 percent, Jasa Marga advanced 0.85 percent, Timah gained 0.69 percent, Bumi Resources plunged 3.70 percent and Bank Danamon Indonesia and Vale Indonesia were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened mixed on Thursday and ended mostly to the upside, with the NASDAQ and S&P both hitting fresh record closing highs..

The Dow eased 0.59 points or 0.00 percent to finish at 43,729.34, while the NASDAQ surged 285.99 points or 1.51 percent to close at 19,269.46 and the S&P 500 advanced 44.06 points or 0.74 percent to end at 5,973.10.

The continued strength on Wall Street reflected ongoing optimism about the impact of former President Donald Trump's return to the White House, which is expected to be positive for corporations.

Stocks saw continued strength as the Federal Reserve announced its widely expected decision to lower interest rates by a quarter point.

Oil futures settled notably higher on Thursday as traders weighed the potential impact of Donald Trump's presidency on the geopolitical scene, against the interest rate cut announcement by the Federal Reserve. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December closed up $0.67 or 0.93 percent at $72.36 a barrel.