Indonesia Stock Market May Extend Thursday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market headed south again on Thursday, one day after snapping the two-day slide in which it had dropped almost 80 points or 1 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 8,270-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on ongoing geopolitical concerns. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The JCI finished modestly lower on Thursday as losses from the telecom, food, finance and cement stocks were mitigated by support from the resource companies.

For the day, the index shed 36.15 points or 0.43 percent to finish at 8,274.08 after trading between 8,251.81 and 8,376.20.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga shed 0.53 percent, while Bank Mandiri tanked 3.79 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia rallied 3.38 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia and Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison both dropped 0.89 percent, Bank Central Asia slumped 1.37 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia declined 1.57 percent, Indocement sank 0.76 percent, Semen Indonesia tumbled 3.05 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur fell 0.37 percent, United Tractors climbed 1.00 percent, Astra International retreated 1.49 percent, Energi Mega Persada advanced 0.97 percent, Astra Agro Lestari added 0.66 percent, Aneka Tambang soared 4.44 percent, Timah climbed 1.01 percent, Bumi Resources surged 5.63 percent and Vale Indonesia was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and spent the entire session under water, ending off session lows.

The Dow stumbled 267.50 points or 0.54 percent to finish at 49,395.16, while the NASDAQ dropped70.91 points or 0.31 percent to close at 22,682.73 and the S&P 500 slipped 19.42 points or 0.28 percent to end at 6,861.89.

The weakness on Wall Street partly reflected a negative reaction to earnings news from Walmart (WMT) after the company provided weaker than expected earnings guidance for the current year.

Negative sentiment may also have been generated by a continued spike by the price of crude oil amid concerns about a military conflict between the U.S. and Iran.

However, traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of closely watched readings on consumer price inflation on Friday. The data could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates.

Crude oil prices jumped again on Thursday amid concerns about a military conflict between the U.S. and Iran, with reports suggesting American military intervention may be imminent. West Texas Intermediate for March delivery was up $1.25 or 1.9 percent to $66.44 a barrel.