Indonesia Shares May Extend Friday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market headed south again on Friday, one day after ending the three-day slide in which it had given up more than 650 points or 7.2 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 7,585-point plateau and it's expected to open in the red again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on surging oil prices and the ongoing war in the Middle East. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The JCI finished sharply lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares, cement stocks and resource companies.

For the day, the index tumbled 124.85 points or 1.62 percent to finish at 7,585.69 after trading between 7,500.08 and 7,700.32.

Among the actives, Bank Mandiri tanked 2.83 percent, while Bank Danamon Indonesia retreated 1.50 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia dipped 0.23 percent, Bank Central Asia contracted 1.41 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia stumbled 2.13 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison plunged 3.57 percent, Indocement sank 0.85 percent, Semen Indonesia fell 0.37 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur improved 0.80 percent, United Tractors rose 0.25 percent, Astra International crashed 3.16 percent, Energi Mega Persada plummeted 13.10 percent, Astra Agro Lestari added 0.34 percent, Aneka Tambang tumbled 2.18 percent, Vale Indonesia surrendered 1.98 percent, Timah cratered 3.34 percent, Bumi Resources lost 4.17 percent and Bank CIMB Niaga was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Friday and remained under water throughout the trading day, ending near session lows.

The Dow dropped 453.19 points or 0.95 percent to finish at 47,501.55, while the NASDAQ tumbled 361.31 points or 1.59 percent to close at 22,387.68 and the S&P 500 sank 90.69 points or 1.33 percent to end at 6,740.02.

The sell-off on Wall Street came amid an extended surge by the price of crude oil. Crude oil has skyrocketed over the past week as the U.S.-Iran conflict spreads across the Middle East, leading to concerns about a global energy crisis.

Crude oil prices surged on Friday after Qatar warned of a production halt in the gulf as the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war against Iran has heavily disrupted energy supply routes through the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery was up $9.88 or 12.20 percent at $90.89 per barrel.

As the Middle East conflict entered its seventh day, Israel intensified air strikes on Iran, while the U.S. said its attacks on Iran are going to "surge dramatically."

Negative sentiment was also generated by the watched Labor Department report showing U.S. unemployment unexpectedly in February. The Labor Department also said the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.4 percent in February from 4.3 percent in January.