Indonesia Stock Market May Extend Friday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market on Friday halted the five-day winning streak in which it had collected more than 60 points or 0.8 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 6,925-point plateau and it may take further damage on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on inflation worries and geopolitical concerns. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The JCI finished slightly lower on Friday following mixed performances from the financial shares, resource stocks and cement companies.

For the day, the index slipped 8.37 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 6,926.78 after trading between 6,902.06 and 6,973.75.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga collected 0.59 percent, while Bank Danamon Indonesia tumbled 1.77 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia plunged 2.82 percent, Bank Central Asia rose 0.28 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia slumped 0.47 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison retreated 1.64 percent, Indocement shed 0.50 percent, Semen Indonesia gained 0.38 percent, Indofood Suskes lost 0.37 percent, United Tractors improved 0.77 percent, Astra International added 0.42 percent, Energi Mega Persada rallied 1.61 percent, Aneka Tambang skidded 1.13 percent, Vale Indonesia dropped 0.91 percent, Timah increased 0.64 percent, Bumi Resources sank 0.79 percent and Bank Mandiri and Astra Agro Lestari were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mostly negative as the major averages opened higher on Friday but quickly headed south, although the Dow was able to recover before the close.

The Dow added 39.15 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 33,670.29, while the NASDAQ tumbled 166.99 points or 1.23 percent to end at 13,407.23 and the S&P 500 slumped 21.83 points or 0.50 percent to close at 4,327.78.

For the week, the Dow added 0.8 percent, the NASDAQ dipped 0.2 percent and S&P rose 0.5 percent.

Selling pressure emerged following the release of a report from the University of Michigan showing a slump in consumer sentiment and a surge in inflation expectations. The data generated some negative sentiment, although a decrease in treasury yields helped to limit the downside.

Traders also kept an eye on developments in the conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas.

Oil prices rose sharply on Friday amid rising concerns about the potential impact on global crude supplies due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November spiked $4.78 or 5.8 percent at $87.69 a barrel. WTI crude futures gained 6 percent in the week.

Closer to home, Indonesia will provide September figures for imports, exports and trade balance later today. In August, imports were down 14.77 percent on year and exports stumbled an annual 21.21 percent for a trade surplus of $3.12 billion.