Indonesia Bourse May Reclaim 6,900-Point Barrier

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, advancing almost 25 points or 0.3 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 6,890-point plateau and it's expected to open higher again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on better-than-expected inflation data from the United States. The European and U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.

The JCI finished modestly higher on Thursday following mixed performances from the financial shares, resource stocks and cement companies.

For the day, the index added 18.16 points or 0.26 percent to finish at 6,893.28.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga collected 0.56 percent, while Bank Mandiri improved 1.27 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia dropped 0.99 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia perked 0.28 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison shed 0.53 percent, Indocement rose 0.23 percent, Semen Indonesia fell 0.37 percent, Indofood Suskes rallied 1.43 percent, United Tractors lost 0.54 percent, Astra International tumbled 1.82 percent, Energi Mega Persada surged 5.93 percent, Astra Agro Lestari soared 2.30 percent, Aneka Tambang skidded 1.00 percent, Vale Indonesia slumped 1.16 percent, Timah sank 0.55 percent, Bumi Resources jumped 1.55 percent and Bank Central Asia and Bank Rakyat Indonesia were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened sharply higher on Thursday but faded as the day progressed, ending just barely in the green.

The Dow added 52.79 points or 0.15 percent to finish at 35,176.15, while the NASDAQ gained 15.97 points or 0.12 percent to close at 13,737.99 and the S&P 500 perked 1.12 points or 0.03 percent to end at 4,468.83.

The early rally on Wall Street came after the Labor Department released a report showing the annual rate of consumer price inflation accelerated less than expected in July.

While the data reinforced expectations the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates unchanged next month, economists suggested sticky core inflation could leave the door open for the Fed to resume raising rates in November.

Oil prices fell from multi-month highs Thursday amid concerns about the outlook for oil demand from China after imports plummeted. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended down $1.58 at $$82.82 a barrel.