Indonesia Stock Market May Extend Thursday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market on Thursday wrote a finish to the two-day slide in which it had given up more than 120 points or 1.9 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just above the 6,520-point plateau and it's expected to open higher again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets mixed to higher with optimism from technology stocks likely capped by a spike in crude oil prices. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to split the difference.

The JCI finished sharply higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares, cement companies and resource stocks.

For the day, the index spiked 116.06 points or 1.81 percent to finish at the daily high of 6,521.75 after trading as low as 6,376.65.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened higher on Thursday and remained mostly in the green throughout the trading day, ending near session highs.

The Dow climbed 105.56 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 53,569.44, while the NASDAQ rallied 411.15 points or 1.57 percent to close at 26,541.35 and the S&P 500 gained 55.29 points or 0.72 percent to end at 7,730.99.

The surge by the NASDAQ reflected a positive reaction to earnings news from AI giant Nvidia (NVDA), which reported better than expected second quarter results and provided upbeat revenue guidance for the current quarter.

Dow component Salesforce (CRM) also skyrocketed after the company reported second quarter results that exceeded estimates and forecast better than expected Q3 earnings.

Traders may also have been reluctant to make more significant moves ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh's speech at the Jackson Hole economic symposium later today.

Crude oil prices soared on Thursday as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed despite efforts by Pakistan and Qatar to end the U.S.-Iran war. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $1.35 or 1.64 percent at $83.58 per barrel.