Indonesia Stock Market Has Positive Lead

The Indonesia stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, sinking more than 110 points or 1.9 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just beneath the 6,090-point plateau although it’s likely to find traction on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on rising oil prices and optimism on the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The JCI finished modestly lower following mixed performances from the resource stocks.

For the day, the index shed 39.05 points or 0.64 percent to finish at 6,088.41 after trading between 6,042.48 and 6,147.77.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga collected 0.52 percent, while Bank Negara Indonesia was up 0.20 percent, Bank Central Asia gathered 1.61 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia lost 0.78 percent, Indosat rallied 2.92 percent, Indocement advanced 0.74 percent, Semen Indonesia climbed 1.50 percent, Indofood Suskes lost 0.41 percent, United Tractors jumped 1.60 percent, Astra International advanced 1.03 percent, Astra Agro Lestari tanked 2.47 percent, Aneka Tambang soared 3.54 percent, Vale Indonesia rose 0.20 percent, Timah spiked 3.08 percent, Bumi Resources plunged 3.64 percent and Bank Danamon Indonesia and Bank Mandiri were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street has been mixed all week and Wednesday was no exception. All three of the major averages opened to the upside and the Dow and S&P stayed that way to hit fresh record closing highs; the NASDAQ quickly headed south and finished in the red.

The Dow jumped 220.30 points or 0.62 percent to finish at 35,484.97, while the NASDAQ dipped 22.95 points or 0.16 percent to close at 14,765.13 and the S&P rose 10.95 points or 0.25 percent to end at 4,447.70.

The mixed performance came after the Labor Department’s highly anticipated inflation reading was not bad as some had feared, slowing to 0.5 percent from 0.9 percent in June – suggesting that the central bank may not be in a hurry to scale back stimulus.

The recent resurgence in coronavirus cases may also weigh on the economy, leading the Fed to put off tapering plans and allowing stocks to continue to climb to record highs.

Crude oil futures settled higher on Wednesday, recovering well after an early setback, after the Biden administration said it would not ask U.S. oil producers to hike output. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended up $0.96 or 1.4 percent at $69.25 a barrel.