Indonesia Shares Tipped To Open Under Pressure On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has finished lower in back-to-back sessions, retreating more than 150 points or 2 percent in that span. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 7,130-point plateau and it may take further damage on Thursday.

The global forecast for thew Asian markets is mixed to lower, with oil and technology stocks likely to weigh. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The JCI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the resource and cement companies, while the financials came in mixed.

For the day, the index shed 33.97 points or 0.47 percent to finish at the daily low of 7,130.84 after moving as high as 7,234.37.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga advanced 0.99 percent, while Bank Danamon Indonesia rallied 1.46 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia gained 0.96 percent, Bank Central Asia collected 0.53 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia sank 0.83 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison surrendered 2.75 percent, Indocement plunged 3.70 percent, Semen Indonesia plummeted 4.04 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur retreated 1.63 percent, United Tractors tanked 2.57 percent, Astra International added 0.49 percent, Energi Mega Persada tumbled 4.27 percent, Aneka Tambang sank 0.83 percent, Vale Indonesia declined 2.95 percent, Timah slumped 3.03 percent, Bumi Resources stumbled 2.33 percent and Bank Mandiri and Astra Agro Lestari were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday but quickly turned lower, spending most of the rest of the day in the red.

The Dow shed 45.66 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 37,753.31, while the NASDAQ tumbled 181.88 points or 1.15 percent to end at 15,683.37 and the S&P 500 sank 29.20 points or 0.58 percent to close at 5,022.21.

The lower close on Wall Street came on concerns about the outlook for interest rates following remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who suggested rates are likely to remain higher for longer amid a "lack of progress" toward reaching the central bank's inflation goal.

Weakness among technology stocks weighed on the tech-heavy NASDAQ as shares of Nvidia (NVDA) came under pressure, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index also slumped.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Wednesday, adding to modest losses in the two previous sessions after data showed a surge in U.S. crude oil inventories. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery plunged $2.67 or 3.1 percent to $82.69 a barrel.