Indonesia Stock Market May Test Support At 7,800 Points

The Indonesia stock market on Wednesday ended the three-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 80 points or 1 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just beneath the 7,830-point plateau and it’s looking at a soft start again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative after the Federal Reserve announced its well-telegraphed rate cut. The European and U.S. markets saw mild losses and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.

The JCI finished slightly lower on Wednesday as losses from the resource stocks and cement companies were offset by support from the financial sector.

For the day, the index dipped 2.64 points or 0.03 percent to finish at 7,829.13 after trading between 7,818.96 and 7,879.04.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga spiked 2.85 percent, while Bank Mandiri fell 0.34 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia rose 0.38 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia advanced 0.88 percent, Bank Central Asia climbed 1.19 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia collected 0.94 percent, Bank Maybank Indonesia jumped 1.72 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison retreated 1.39 percent, Indocement lost 0.37 percent, Semen Indonesia declined 1.26 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur was down 0.35 percent, United Tractors perked 0.19 percent, Astra International rallied 3.45 percent, Astra Agro Lestari sank 0.78 percent, Aneka Tambang slumped 1.09 percent, Jasa Marga dropped 0.98 percent, Vale Indonesia tanked 1.08 percent, Timah stumbled 1.46 percent and Bumi Resources and Energi Mega Persada were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages hugged the line until the Fed’s monetary policy announcement; after an initial spike, they turned lower and ended in the red.

The Dow sank 103.08 points or 0.25 percent to finish at 41,503.10, while the NASDAQ shed 54.76 points or 0.31 percent to close at 17,573.30 and the S&P 500 fell 16.32 points or 0.29 percent to end at 5,618.26.

The late-day volatility on Wall Street came after the Fed decided to lower interest rates for the first time in over four years, aggressively slashing rates by half a percentage point.

The economic projections provided by Fed officials at the meeting suggested the central bank will cut rates by another 50 basis points by the end of the year.

Fed officials also expect to continue lowering rates next year, with the projections indicating rates will be lower by another full percentage point by the end of 2025.

Thanks to profit taking, crude oil futures settled lower on Wednesday, despite a drop in U.S. crude inventories and the rate cut. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for October ended down $0.28 or 0.39 percent at $70.91 a barrel.