Indonesia Shares Poised To Bounce Higher Again On Thursday

The Indonesia stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had collected more than 100 points or 1.3 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 7,760-point plateau although it’s expected to open to the upside on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The JCI finished barely lower on Wednesday following mixed performances from the financial shares and resource stocks.

For the day, the index eased 0.43 points or 0.01 percent to finish at 7,760.96 after trading between 7,736.78 and 7,802.48.

Among the actives, Bank Mandiri jumped 1.72 percent, while Bank Danamon Indonesia and Aneka Tambang both shed 0.38 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia dropped 0.88 percent, Bank Central Asia collected 0.72 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia retreated 1.43 percent, Bank Maybank Indonesia rallied 2.59 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison skidded 1.14 percent, Semen Indonesia sank 0.75 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur lost 0.71 percent, United Tractors tumbled 1.78 percent, Astra Agro Lestari declined 1.55 percent, Jasa Marga slumped 1.22 percent, Timah climbed 1.03 percent, Bumi Resources plunged 3.09 percent and Astra International, Bank CIMB Niaga, Indocement, Vale Indonesia and Energi Mega Persada were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages shook off early weakness and trended steadily higher throughout the day, ending near session highs.

The Dow climbed 124.75 points or 0.31 percent to finish at 40,861.71, while the NASDAQ surged 369.65 points or 2.17 percent to end at 17,395.53 and the S&P 500 rallied 58.61 points or 1.07 percent to close at 5,554.13.

The early sell-off on Wall Street followed the release of the Labor Department’s closely watched consumer price inflation report for August.

While the report showed consumer prices increased in line with economist estimates, core consumer prices rose slightly more than expected.

Stocks moved sharply lower as the data seemingly reduced the chances that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates by 50 basis points next week. But selling pressure waned dramatically over the course session as the Fed is still expected to continue lowering rates in the coming months.

Crude oil prices surged higher on Wednesday, recovering from a three-year low in the previous session thanks to fears of prolonged production shutdowns in the offshore oil patch due to Hurricane Francine. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended up by $1.56 or 2.37 percent at $67.31 a barrel.