Indonesia Bourse May Reclaim 7,300-Point Level

The Indonesia stock market on Friday halted the three-day losing streak in which it had slipped more than 80 points or 1.1 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just beneath the 7,290-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on an improved outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were solidly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

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

For the day, the index gained 47.89 points or 0.66 percent to finish at 7,288.17 after trading between 7,256.53 and 7,298.96.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga fell 0.28 percent, while Bank Mandiri shed 0.38 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia improved 0.79 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia lost 0.50 percent, Bank Central Asia collected 0.24 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia increased 1.28 percent, Bank Maybank Indonesia dropped 0.83 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison jumped 1.74 percent, Indocement lost 0.68 percent, Semen Indonesia gained 0.75 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur added 0.41 percent, United Tractors rose 0.30 percent, Astra International rallied 2.67 percent, Energi Mega Persada accelerated 1.85 percent, Astra Agro Lestari soared 3.88 percent, Aneka Tambang climbed 1.17 percent, Jasa Marga retreated 1.37 percent, Vale Indonesia strengthened 1.36 percent, Timah spiked 2.15 percent and Bumi Resources surged 4.00 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher on Friday and remained in the green throughout the trading day.

The Dow surged 654.27 points or 1.64 percent to finish at 40,589.34, while the NASDAQ rallied 176.16 points or 1.03 percent and the S&P 500 gained 59.88 points or 1.11 percent.

For the week, the Dow added 0.8 percent, the NASDAQ slumped 2.1 percent and the S&P fell 0.8 percent.

The strength on Wall Street came as the release of closely watched inflation data by the Commerce Department added to confidence about an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September.

The University of Michigan also released revised data showing consumer sentiment in the U.S. deteriorated less than previously estimated in July.

Oil prices fell on Friday amid concerns about the outlook for demand due to the economic slowdown in China, while hopes for a ceasefire in Gaza also weighed. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended down $1.12 or 1.4 percent at $77.16 a barrel. WTI crude futures lost 1.9 percent in the week.