Indonesia Stock Market May Stop The Bleeding On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has finished lower in back-to-back sessions, sinking almost 90 points or 1.5 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 6,900-point plateau although it's likely to find traction on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on continued optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The JCI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the cement and resource stocks, while the financials were mixed.

For the day, the index slumped 54.84 points or 0.79 percent to finish at 6,906.95.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga sank 0.87 percent, while Bank Danamon Indonesia and Astra Agro Lestari both fell 0.36 percent, Bank Central Asia climbed 1.14 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia rallied 1.44 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison shed 0.55 percent, Indocement skidded 1.07 percent, Semen Indonesia plunged 2.64 percent, Indofood Suskes slumped 1.17 percent, United Tractors tanked 1.98 percent, Astra International tumbled 1.73 percent, Energi Mega Persada advanced 0.93 percent, Aneka Tambang dropped 0.93 percent, Vale Indonesia surrendered 2.15 percent, Timah plummeted 3.10 percent, Bumi Resources declined 0.91 percent and Bank Mandiri and Bank Negara Indonesia were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and remained in the green throughout the session.

The Dow jumped 184.74 points or 0.53 percent to finish at 35,273.03, while the NASDAQ gained 65.88 points or 0.46 percent to end at 14,265.86 and the S&P 500 rose 18.43 points or 0.41 percent to close at 4,556.62.

The strength on Wall Street came as continued optimism about the outlook for interest rates contributed to renewed buying interest following the previous day's pullback.

While the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting failed to provide any indications the central bank plans to cut interest rates in the near future, CME Group's FedWatch Tool suggests the next move will be a rate cut in mid-2024.

In economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week. Also, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods pulled back by much more than expected in October.

Crude oil futures settled lower Wednesday after data showed a notable increase in crude inventory in the U.S., and after OPEC postponed a key meeting by four days. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended down $0.67 or 0.86 percent at $77.10 a barrel.

Closer to home, the central bank in Indonesia will wrap up its monetary policy meeting later today and then announce its decision on interest rates. The central bank is expected to keep its benchmark lending rate (6.00 percent), deposit facility rate (5.25 percent) and lending facility rate (6.75 percent) all unchanged.