Indonesia Bourse May Extend Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has finished lower in two straight sessions, stumbling almost 160 points or 2.4 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just beneath the 6,630-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with financials likely to lead the way lower amid fresh concerns over the stability of the sector. The European and U.S. markets were mostly lower and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.

The JCI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following heavy losses from the cement companies and mixed performances from the financials and resource stocks.

For the day, the index slipped 13.68 points or 0.21 percent to finish at 6,628.14.

Among the actives, Bank Danamon Indonesia strengthened 1.49 percent, while Bank CIMB Niaga sank 0.82 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia rose 0.28 percent, Bank Mandiri collected 1.26 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia dipped 0.21 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison improved 1.45 percent, Indocement plummeted 6.82 percent, Semen Indonesia plunged 6.08 percent, Indofood Suskes retreated 1.21 percent, United Tractors added 0.55 percent, Astra Agro Lestari shed 0.63 percent, Aneka Tambang rallied 2.20 percent, Vale Indonesia climbed 1.23 percent, Timah tanked 3.26 percent, Bumi Resources jumped 1.63 percent and Astra International, Bank Central Asia and Energi Mega Persada were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is largely negative as the major averages opened sharply lower on Wednesday. A late push pared the losses and nudged the NASDAQ barely into the green.

The Dow tumbled 280.83 points or 0.87 percent to finish at 31,874.57, while the NASDAQ perked 5.90 points or 0.05 percent to close at 11,434.05 and the S&P 500 sank 27.36 points or 0.70 percent to end at 3,891.93.

The weakness on Wall Street was fueled by weakness from the financial sector.

In addition to ongoing concerns about turmoil in the financial sector following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, short-term debt woes of Swiss lender Credit Suisse contributed to the bearish sentiment in the market.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said retail sales in U.S. fell slightly more than expected in February. Also, the Labor Department said producer prices in the U.S. unexpectedly edged slightly lower last month.

Crude oil prices plunged to their lowest level since December 2021 on Wednesday, amid rising concerns about global economic growth and worries about the outlook for energy demand after data showed an increase in U.S. crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate futures for April tumbled 5 percent at $67.61 a barrel.

Closer to home, the central bank in Indonesia will wrap up its monetary policy meeting later today and then announce its decision on interest rates. The central bank is expected to keep its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 5.75 percent.