Indonesia Stock Market Poised To Extend Winning Streak

The Indonesia stock market has finished higher in back-to-back trading days, gathering more than 90 points or 1.5 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just above the 6,585-point plateau and it’s tipped to open higher again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests lid upside, with optimism over interest rates offset by weakness from crude oil prices. The European markets were up and the U.S. markets were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

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

For the day, the index collected 34.31 points or 0.52 percent to finish at 6,586.44 after trading between 6,583.17 and 6,617.86.

Among the actives, Bank Danamon Indonesia jumped 1.95 percent, while Bank CIMB Niaga climbed 1.42 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia fell 0.36 percent, Bank Central Asia perked 0.34 percent, Bank Mandiri collected 0.70 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia dropped 0.93 percent, Indosat rallied 2.50 percent, Indocement surged 5.37 percent, Semen Indonesia soared 4.49 percent, Indofood Suskes added 0.40 percent, United Tractors rose 0.34 percent, Astra Agro Lestari shed 0.45 percent, Aneka Tambang spiked 2.59 percent, Vale Indonesia gained 0.42 percent, Timah gathered 1.28 percent, Bumi Resources advanced 1.37 percent and Energi Mega Persada and Astra International were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is inconsistent as the NASDAQ and S&P 500 both opened higher and stayed that way to hit fresh record closing highs, while the Dow opened lower and remained in the red throughout the session.

The Dow shed 33.35 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 36,124.23, while the NASDAQ jumped 128.72 points or 0.81 percent to close at 15.940.31 and the S&P added 19.49 points or 0.42 percent to end at 4,680.06.

Another batch of earnings news was a driving factor as strong results from chipmaker Qualcomm (QCOM) helped to send the NASDAQ higher, while losses by Dow Inc. (DOW), Goldman Sachs (GS) and Travelers (TRV) contributed to the modest pullback by the Dow.

Traders also continued to react positively to the Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy announcement, with the central bank announcing plans to scale back its asset purchases but signaling it won’t be in a hurry to begin raising interest rates.

In economic news, the Labor Department noted a modest decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week. Also, the Commerce Department said the U.S. trade deficit widened much more than expected in September.

Crude oil prices tumbled and settled at their lowest level in nearly a month on Thursday after OPEC decided to stick with its plan to raise oil output modestly and gradually. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended lower by $2.05 or 2.5 percent at $78.81 a barrel.

Closer to home, Indonesia will provide Q3 figures for gross domestic product later today, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 1.8 percent on quarter and 3.76 percent on year. That follows the 3.31 percent quarterly increase and the 7.07 percent yearly gain in the second quarter.