Indonesia Bourse Has Positive Lead For Friday

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has moved higher in nine straight sessions, gathering more than 415 points or 6 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just beneath the 7,290-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the green again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive, with oil, technology and financial shares likely to lead the way higher. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.

The JCI finished sharply higher again on Thursday following gains from the telecoms, mixed performances from the financials and resource stocks and weakness from the cement companies.

For the day, the index spiked 95.00 points or 1.32 percent to finish at 7,287.02 after trading between 7,226.12 and 7,291.56.

Among the actives, Bank Mandiri collected 0.64 percent, while Bank Negara Indonesia shed 0.48 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia rose 0.26 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison skyrocketed 8.13 percent, Indocement plummeted 5.07 percent, Semen Indonesia stumbled 3.57 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur lost 0.60 percent, United Tractors perked 0.11 percent, Astra International advanced 0.84 percent, Energi Mega Persada improved 0.89 percent, Astra Agro Lestari surged 6.72 percent, Aneka Tambang added 0.67 percent, Vale Indonesia tanked 2.29 percent, Bumi Resources slumped 1.65 percent and Timah, Bank CIMB Niaga, Bank Danamon Indonesia and Bank Central Asia were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened solidly in the green on Thursday and extended their gains throughout the day.

The Dow jumped 229.71 points or 0.52 percent to finish at 44,484.49, while the NASDAQ rallied 155.16 points or 0.75 percent to close at a record 20,855.65 and the S&P 500 gained 33.66 points or 0.54 percent to end at 6,297.36, also a record.

The continued strength on Wall Street followed the release of a batch of upbeat U.S. economic data, including a Commerce Department report showing retail sales rebounded by much more than expected in the month of June.

A separate report from the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly dipped to a three-month low last month, while import prices in the U.S. inched up less than expected in June.

Crude oil prices increased on Thursday as fresh tension brewing in the Middle East generated demand, while a drop in U.S. inventories was seen as reflecting robust summer demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery surged $1.16 to settle at $67.54 per barrel.