Higher Open Expected For Indonesia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market rebounded again on Thursday, one session after halting the three-day winning streak in which it had gathered more than 80 points or 1.2 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just above the 7,230-point plateau and it's tipped to open the green again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with support coming from technology, finance and oil stocks. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The JCI finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares and mixed performances from the resource and cement companies.

For the day, the index gained 45.26 points or 0.63 percent to finish at 7,232.02.

Among the actives, Bank Danamon Indonesia rose 0.36 percent, while Bank Negara Indonesia rallied 2.33 percent, Bank Central Asia fell 0.30 percent, Bank Mandiri collected 0.85 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia surged 3.14 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison soared 3.60 percent, Indocement perked 0.26 percent, Indofood Suskes sank 0.79 percent, Energi Mega Persada lost 0.68 percent, Aneka Tambang retreated 1.54 percent, Vale Indonesia climbed 1.22 percent, Timah tumbled 1.66 percent, Bumi Resources plummeted 3.85 percent and Astra International, Bank CIMB Niaga, Astra Agro Lestari and Semen Indonesia were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages shook off early weakness on Thursday, using an afternoon rally to climb up into positive territory.

The Dow jumped 193.24 points or 0.61 percent to finish at 31,774.52, while the NASDAQ gained 70.23 points or 0.60 percent to end at 11,862.13 and the S&P 500 rose 26.31 points or 0.66 percent to close at 4,006.18.

The volatility on Wall Street came as traders digested comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who reiterated the central bank's commitment to aggressively fighting inflation.

Powell's comments are seen as reinforcing expectations that the Fed will raise interest rates by another 75 basis points at its next meeting later this month.

In economic news, the Labor Department unexpectedly reported a modest decrease in initial jobless claims last week.

Crude oil futures settled higher Thursday following Russia's threat to halt oil and gas exports to some buyers. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended higher by $1.60 or 2 percent at $83.54 a barrel.

Closer to home, Indonesia will provide July numbers for retail sales later this morning; in June, sales were up 4.1 percent on year.