Indonesia Shares Likely To Open In The Red

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market on Wednesday ended the modest two-day winning streak in which it had picked up more than 40 points or 0.6 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 7,085-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower ahead of key U.S. employment data later this week, while slumping oil prices also may weigh. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The JCI finished slightly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financials, gains from the cement companies and a mixed bag from the resource stocks.

For the day, the index lost 13.46 points or 0.19 percent to finish at 7,087.40 after trading between 7,085.81 and 7,140.16.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga fell 0.29 percent, while Bank Mandiri tanked 2.93 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia and Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison both slumped 1.06 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia retreated 1.42 percent, Bank Central Asia skidded 1.12 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia sank 0.46 percent, Indocement perked 0.26 percent, Semen Indonesia improved 0.78 percent, Indofood Suskes added 0.39 percent, United Tractors tumbled 1.93 percent, Energi Mega Persada dropped 0.88 percent, Aneka Tambang tumbled 2.58 percent, Vale Indonesia soared 3.01 percent, Timah surged 3.05 percent, Bumi Resources plummeted 4.00 percent and Astra International and Astra Agro Lestari were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major average opened higher on Wednesday but couldn't hold the gains and eventually finished under water.

The Dow dropped 70.13 points or 0.19 percent to finish at 36,054.43, while the NASDAQ sank 83.20 points or 0.58 percent to end at 14,146.71 and the S&P 500 lost 17.84 points or 0.39 percent to close at 4,549.34.

The early strength on Wall Street followed the release of a report from payroll processor ADP showing private sector employment in the U.S. increased by less than expected in November.

The weaker than expected private sector job growth added to recent optimism the Federal Reserve is done raising interest rates.

However, stocks retreated as traders chose to lighten commitments due to concerns about possible overbought conditions in the market ahead of the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

Oil prices fell sharply on Wednesday, extending losses to a fifth straight day after data showed a large increase in gasoline inventories in the U.S. last week, raising concerns about the outlook for fuel demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January sank $2.94 or 4.1 percent at $69.38 a barrel.