Indonesia Stock Market May Erase Thursday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last seven trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had picked up almost 110 points or 1.3 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 8,620-point plateau and it's expected to tick higher again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside on optimism over earnings news, although weakness from the technology and oil companies may limit the upside. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mostly in the green and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.

The JCI finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the financial, food and telecom shares, while the cement companies were up and the resource stocks were mixed.

For the day, the index dropped 80.44 points or 0.92 percent to finish at 8,620.48 after trading between 8,560.11 and a record 8,776.97.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga sank 0.86 percent, while Bank Mandiri fell 0.40 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia stumbled 2.01 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia contracted 1.86 percent, Bank Central Asia dropped 0.93 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia skidded 1.09 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison shed 0.83 percent, Indocement rallied 2.63 percent, Semen Indonesia improved 0.71 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur plunged 4.71 percent, United Tractors tumbled 1.92 percent, Astra International tanked 2.64 percent, Energi Mega Persada soared 4.59 percent, Astra Agro Lestari plummeted 5.11 percent, Aneka Tambang retreated 1.37 percent, Vale Indonesia slumped 1.03 percent, Timah climbed 1.32 percent and Bumi Resources skyrocketed 10.43 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened mixed but trended steadily higher as the day progressed.

The Dow jumped 646.26 points or 1.34 percent to finish at a record 48,704.01, while the NASDAQ dipped 60.30 points or 0.25 percent to close at 23,593.86 and the &P 500 rose 14.32 points or 0.21 percent to end at 6,901.00.

The surge by the Dow reflected a spike by shares of Visa (V) after Bank of American upgraded its rating on the stock to Buy from Neutral. Strong gains by Nike (NKE), UnitedHealth (UNH) and American Express (AXP) also contributed to the jump by the blue chip index.

On the other hand shares of Oracle (ORCL) weighed on the NASDAQ after the company reported fiscal Q2 earnings that beat estimates but on weaker than expected revenues - reflecting renewed valuation concerns.

On the U.S. economic front, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rebounded more than expected last week.

Crude oil prices dropped on Thursday on oversupply concerns even as OPEC prepares to pause output hikes in early 2026. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was down $0.88 or 1.51 percent at $57.58 per barrel.