Mild Rebound Tipped For Indonesia Stock Market

The Indonesia stock market on Wednesday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had climbed almost 110 points or 1.8 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just above the 6,090-point plateau although it may inch higher again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed and flat ahead of key U.S. employment data at the end of the week, while support from crude oil prices may nudge markets into the green. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.

The JCI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the cement companies and mixed performances from the financials and resource stocks.

For the day, the index dropped 59.37 points or 0.97 percent to finish at 6,090.93 after trading between 6,089.23 and 6,169.06.

Among the actives, Bank Danamon Indonesia skyrocketed 9.79 percent, while Bank CIMB Niaga tumbled 1.98 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia surrendered 1.39 percent, Bank Central Asia collected 0.23 percent, Bank Mandiri retreated 1.64 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia lost 1.02 percent, Indosat skidded 1.19 percent, Indocement skidded 1.33 percent, Semen Indonesia tanked 2.43 percent, Indofood Suskes rallied 2.83 percent, United Tractors eased 0.12 percent, Astra International shed 0.96 percent, Astra Agro Lestari jumped 1.78 percent, Vale Indonesia dropped 0.99 percent, Timah declined 1.64 percent, Energi Mega Persada sank 0.91 percent and Bumi Resources and Aneka Tambang were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is inconsistent as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday, although the Dow quickly slipped into negative territory and finished in the red.

The Dow shed 48.20 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 35,312.53, while the NASDAQ gained 50.15 points or 0.33 percent to close at a record 15,309.38 and the S&P 500 rose 1.41 points or 0.03 percent to end at 4,524.09.

The lackluster close on Wall Street came as traders continued to look ahead to the release of the Labor Department’s closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

Economists currently expect employment to jump by 750,000 jobs in August after surging by 943,000 jobs in July. The unemployment rate is expected to dip to 5.2 percent from 5.4 percent.

In economic news, payroll processor ADP noted weaker than expected private sector job growth in August. And the Institute for Supply Management said U.S. manufacturing activity unexpectedly grew at a slightly faster rate in August.

Crude oil futures settled marginally higher on Wednesday after data showed a drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended up $0.09 or 0.1 percent at $68.59 a barrel.