Higher Open Predicted For Indonesia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market on Thursday wrote a finish to the two-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 150 points or 2.1 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just beneath the 7,200-point plateau although it's expected to see renewed support on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat in easing concerns for the health of the United States economy. The European markets were mixed and little changed and the U.S. bourses were sharply higher and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

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

For the day, the index fell 17.01 points or 0.24 percent to finish at 7,195.12 after trading between 7,181.77 and 7,234.45.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga shed 0.56 percent, while Bank Mandiri collected 0.37 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia gained 0.81 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia rose 0.50 percent, Bank Central Asia improved 1.24 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia and Astra Agro Lestari both advanced 0.87 percent, Bank Maybank Indonesia and Jasa Marga both dropped 0.93 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison plunged 4.18 percent, Indocement tumbled 1.78 percent, Semen Indonesia sank 0.79 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur jumped 1.63 percent, United Tractors fell 0.40 percent, Astra International rallied 2.38 percent, Aneka Tambang stumbled 1.93 percent, Vale Indonesia slumped 1.10 percent, Timah added 0.54 percent, Bumi Resources retreated 1.33 percent and Energi Mega Persada was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher and continued to accelerate throughout the day, ending near session highs.

The Dow surged 683.04 points or 1.76 percent to finish at 39,446.49, while the NASDAQ rallied 464.22 points or 2.87 percent to end at 16,660.02 and the S&P 500 jumped 119.81 points or 2.30 percent to close at 5,319.31.

The rally on Wall Street came after the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits pulled back by more than expected last week.

The data helped ease concerns about the strength of the labor market, which have contributed to recent selling on Wall Street.

On the corporate scene, athletic apparel company Under Armour (UAA) and pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly (LLY) bounced higher after strong results, while Warner Brothers Discovery (WBD) slumped after showing soft numbers.

Oil futures settled higher on Thursday, amid possible supply disruptions due to Middle East tensions, and on hopes of increased demand in the U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended higher by $0.96 or 1.28 percent at $76.19 a barrel.