Indonesia Bourse May Halt Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has finished lower in back-to-back sessions, plummeting more than 360 points or 6 percent in that span. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just beneath the 5,840-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mostly positive on easing oil prices and optimism for an end to hostilities in the Middle East. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourse were mostly higher and the Asian markets are also tipped to move to the upside.

The JCI finished sharply lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares and cement stocks, although the resource companies offered support.

For the day, the index tumbled 101.28 points or 1.70 percent to finish at 5,839.79 after trading between 5,644.23 and 5,924.51.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga shed 0.63 percent, while Bank Mandiri tumbled 1.98 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia crashed 4.67 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia plummeted 4.20 percent, Bank Central Asia declined 1.81 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia stumbled 3.10 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison skidded 0.96 percent, Indocement dropped 4.73 percent, Semen Indonesia cratered 5.23 percent, Astra International tanked 4.34 percent, Energi Mega Persada sank 0.74 percent, Astra Agro Lestari plunged 5.64 percent, Aneka Tambang soared 5.75 percent, Vale Indonesia jumped 1.62 percent, Timah surged 7.37 percent, Bumi Resources climbed 1.35 percent and Indofood Sukses Makmur and United Tractors were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened mixed on Thursday and then tracked steadily higher throughout the day but still ended on opposite sides of the line.

The Dow soared 874.86 points or 1.73 percent to finish at a record 51,561.93, while the NASDAQ dipped 23.02 points or 0.09 percent to close at 26,830.96 and the S&P 500 added 30.63 points or 0.41 percent to end at 7,584.31.

The rebound by the Dow reflected a spike by shares of UnitedHealth (UNH) following an upgrade by Bank of America. Dow components American Express (AXP), Goldman Sachs (GS) and Merck (MRK) also posted strong gains.

The NASDAQ climbed well off its worst levels but still ended the day modestly lower amid weakness among technology stocks.

A steep drop by shares of Broadcom (AVGO) weighed on the tech sector, despite fiscal Q2 earnings that exceeded estimates although the company failed to raise its full-year forecast of $100 billion in AI chip sales.

Crude oil prices plunged on Wednesday on hopes of de-escalation in the Middle East following an Israel-Lebanon ceasefire announcement. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was down $3.00 or 3.12 percent at $93.02 per barrel.