Indonesia Stock Market May Spin Its Wheels On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market on Wednesday snapped the three-day losing streak in which it had slumped more than 90 points or 1.4 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 6,775-point plateau and it's likely to be stuck in neutral on Thursday.

The global forecast is mixed to higher as markets are expected to recover from selling pressure earlier this week. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets figure to open in similar fashion.

The JCI finished slightly higher on Wednesday gains from the financials and cement stocks, while the resource companies were soft.

For the day, the index added 9.61 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 6,776.37.

Among the actives, Bank Danamon Indonesia sank 0.70 percent, while Bank CIMB Niaga collected 0.41 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia dipped 0.28 percent, Bank Central Asia jumped 1.78 percent, Bank Mandiri advanced 0,98 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison improved 0.72 percent, Indocement rallied 2.00 percent, Semen Indonesia tumbled 2.47 percent, Indofood Suskes declined 1.60 percent, United Tractors stumbled 1.58 percent, Astra International shed 0.42 percent, Energi Mega Persada plummeted 2.44 percent, Astra Agro Lestari retreated 1.53 percent, Aneka Tambang tanked 2.84 percent, Vale Indonesia slumped 1.91 percent, Timah surrendered 2.12 percent, Bumi Resources dropped 0.81 percent and Bank Rakyat Indonesia was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as spent most of Wednesday bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line, finally finishing mixed and little changed.

The Dow lost 58.06 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 32,798.40, while the NASDAQ gained 45.67 points or 0.40 percent to close at 11,576.00 and the S&P 500 perked 5.64 points or 0.14 percent to end at 3,992.01.

The choppy trading on Wall Street reflected uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets following Tuesday's sell-off, which reflected renewed concerns about the outlook for interest following remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Traders may also have been reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of the closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

In economic news, payroll processor ADP said private sector employment in the U.S. increased more than expected in February. Also, the Labor Department said job openings in the U.S. fell to 10.8 million in January from 11.2 million in December.

Crude oil prices slipped on Wednesday, extending losses from the previous session amid concerns about outlook for energy demand following Powell's remarks to Congress. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended lower by $0.92 or 1.2 percent at $76.66 a barrel.