Rally May Stall For Indonesia Stock Market

The Indonesia stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, collecting more than 80 points or 1.1 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 7,325-point plateau although it’s likely to run out of steam on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, thanks to fears of an economic slowdown. The European and U.S. markets finished sharply lower and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The JCI finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares and resource stocks.

For the day, the index advanced 70.22 points or 0.97 percent to finish at the daily high of 7,325.98 after trading as low as 7,258.87.

Among the actives, Bank Mandiri soared 5.47 percent, while Bank Danamon Indonesia sank 0.77 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia jumped 2.11 percent, Bank Central Asia advanced 0.97 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia strengthened 1.71 percent, Bank Maybank Indonesia collected 0.93 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison plunged 3.60 percent, Semen Indonesia retreated 1.53 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur added 0.41 percent, United Tractors dropped 0.97 percent, Astra International rose 0.42 percent, Energi Mega Persada surged 4.67 percent, Astra Agro Lestari improved 0.83 percent, Aneka Tambang spiked 2.28 percent, Jasa Marga tanked 2.70 percent, Vale Indonesia accelerated 2.41 percent, Timah rallied 3.17 percent and Bumi Resources, Bank CIMB Niaga and Indocement were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened slightly higher on Thursday but quickly headed south and finished deep under water.

The Dow plummeted 494.82 points or 1.21 percent to finish at 40,347.97, while the NASDAQ tumbled 405.26 points or 2.30 percent to close at 17,194.14 and the S&P 500 sank 75.62 points or 1.37 percent to end at 5,446.68.

The sell-off on Wall Street came as disappointing data led to concerns about the outlook for the U.S. economy and offset optimism about a near-term interest rate cut by Federal Reserve.

The Institute for Supply Management released a report showing U.S. manufacturing activity unexpectedly contracted at an accelerated rate in July.

The Labor Department also released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose to their highest level in almost a year last week.

Oil futures settled lower on Thursday on concerns about disappointing economic data and the outlook for oil demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended down $1.60 or about 2.05 percent at $76.31 a barrel.