Indonesia Stock Market May Test Resistance At 6,900 Points

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has moved higher in consecutive trading days, collecting more than 50 points or 0.8 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just above the 6,890-point plateau and it's expected to find additional support on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, fueled by gains from the technology stocks. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The JCI finished modestly higher on Thursday following mixed performances from the financial shares, resource stocks and cement companies.

For the day, the index gained 28.31 points or 0.41 percent to finish at 6,890.57.

Among the actives, Bank Danamon Indonesia spiked 3.75 percent, while Bank CIMB Niaga jumped 1.67 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia eased 0.27 percent, Bank Central Asia shed 0.59 percent, Bank Mandiri rose 0.26 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia slumped 1.71 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison declined 1.25 percent, Indocement soared 4.55 percent, Indofood Suskes dropped 0.75 percent, United Tractors tanked 2.53 percent, Astra International retreated 1.25 percent, Energi Mega Persada surged 5.00 percent, Astra Agro Lestari added 0.61 percent, Aneka Tambang sank 0.84 percent, Vale Indonesia tumbled 1.98 percent, Timah dipped 0.39 percent and Bumi Resources and Semen Indonesia were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is a dichotomy as the Dow opened sharply lower on Thursday and remained in the red throughout, while the NASDAQ and S&P opened higher and stayed solidly in the green.

The Dow dipped 39.02 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 34,053.94, while the NASDAQ surged 384.50 points or 3.25 percent to end at 12,200.82 and the S&P 500 soared 60.55 points or 1.47 percent to end at 4,179.76.

The surge by the NASDAQ came as Meta Platforms (META) led a tech sector rally, with the Facebook parent skyrocketing by 23.3 percent to a nearly eight-month closing high after reporting better than expected Q4 revenues.

Stocks also continued to benefit from a positive reaction to the Federal Reserve's interest rate announcement on Wednesday, with traders expressing optimism the Fed is nearing the end of its rate hiking cycle.

At the same time, the Dow bucked the uptrend due partly to a notable decline by shares of Merck (MRK), which tumbled by 3.3 percent after the drug giant provided disappointing guidance.

Crude oil prices drifted lower Thursday, weighed down by data showing an increase in U.S. crude inventories last week. The dollar's recovery and uncertainty about the outlook for energy demand due to concerns about a global recession also hurt. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March fell $0.53 or 0.7 percent at $75.88 a barrel.