Lower Open Predicted For Indonesia Stock Market

The Indonesia stock market on Thursday snapped the three-day slide in which it had stumbled almost 80 points or 1.3 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just beneath the 6,350-point plateau although it figures to see renewed consolidation on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative thanks to a spike in bond yields and plummeting oil prices. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.

The JCI finished sharply higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares, telecoms and cement and resource stocks.

For the day, the index climbed 7.60 points or 1.12 percent to finish at 6,347.83 after trading between 6,307.00 and 6,358.43.

Among the actives, Bank Danamon Indonesia jumped 1.94 percent, while Bank CIMB Niaga collected 0.92 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia soared 2.87 percent, Bank Central Asia rose 1.44 percent, Bank Mandiri spiked 4.21 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia improved 1.93 percent, Indosat skyrocketed 9.09 percent, Telkom Indonesia was up 1.77 percent, Indocement climbed 1.57 percent, Semen Indonesia accelerated 2.71 percent, Indofood Suskes dropped 0.79 percent, United Tractors rallied 3.09 percent, Astra International surged 2.69 percent, Aneka Tambang fell 0.43 percent, Vale Indonesia gained 1.77 percent, Timah perked 1.37 percent, Bumi Resources gathered 1.67 percent and Astra Agro Lestari and Energi Mega Persada were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as stocks opened mixed on Thursday but turned firmly negative as the day progressed – particularly among technology stocks.

The Dow tumbled 153.07 points or 0.46 percent to finish at 32,862.30, while the NASDAQ plummeted 409.03 points or 3.02 percent to end at 13,116.17 and the S&P 500 sank 58.66 points or 1.48 percent to close at 3,915.46.

The weakness on Wall Street came as another spike in treasury yields renewed concerns about the outlook for high-growth companies. The yield on the benchmark ten-year note jumped above 1.7 percent to reach its highest levels since January of 2020, while the thirty-year bond yield shot up to its highest levels since last summer.

Yields skyrocketed despite assurances by the Federal Reserve that interest rates will remain at near-zero levels through 2023. Analysts attributed the jump in yields to concerns that the Fed’s apparent willingness to let inflation accelerate more than normal will reduce the appeal of bonds.

In economic news, the Labor Department noted an unexpected increase in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week thanks to the winter storm in Texas. Also, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve said its reading on regional manufacturing spiked to a 50-year high in March.

Crude oil prices declined sharply on Thursday on concerns about the outlook for energy demand due to uncertainty about the pace of the economic recovery. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended down $4.60 or 7.1 percent at $60.00 a barrel.