Indonesia Bourse Due For Consolidation

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has finished higher in six straight sessions, advancing more than 225 points or 3.8 percent in that span. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just above the 6,100-point plateau although investors figure to lock in gains on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with technology stocks expected to weigh. The European and U.S. markets were own and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

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

For the day, he index climbed 66.24 points or 1.10 percent to finish at the daily high of 6,108.21 after moving as low as 6,024.35.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened mixed but quickly fell under water, trending lower throughout the trading day and finishing near session lows.

The Dow sank 105.67 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 52,552.97, while the NASDAQ tumbled 387.28 points or 1.47 percent to end at 25,881.95 and the S&P 500 lost 38.63 points or 0.51 percent to close at 7,533.77.

The pullback on Wall Street came amid renewed weakness among technology stocks, as reflected by the slump by the tech-heavy NASDAQ. Computer hardware and semiconductor stocks turned in some of the worst performances.

Gold, brokerage and steel stocks saw notable weakness, while transportation, housing and healthcare stocks were up.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly dipped to a two-month low last week. Also, the Commerce Department noted a modest increase in U.S. retail sales in June.

Crude oil prices slumped on Thursday as hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the U.S.-Iran conflict strengthened. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was down $0.90 or 1.13 percent at $78.70 per barrel.