Indonesia Stock Market Set To Halt Slide On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has moved lower in two straight sessions, dropping more than 100 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 6,580-point plateau although it's due for support on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were solidly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The JCI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financials and mixed performances from the cement and resource companies.

For the day, the index shed 38.05 points or 0.57 percent to finish at 6,584.45.

Among the actives, Bank Danamon Indonesia skidded 1.18 percent, while Bank CIMB Niaga fell 0.44 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia tanked 2.58 percent, Bank Central Asia shed 0.61 percent, Bank Mandiri plunged 3.50 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia slumped 1.13 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison retreated 1.23 percent, Indocement climbed 1.24 percent, Semen Indonesia sank 0.71 percent, United Tractors added 0.50 percent, Astra International tumbled 1.88 percent, Energi Mega Persada tumbled 2.19 percent, Astra Agro Lestari dropped 0.94 percent, Aneka Tambang strengthened 1.47 percent, Vale Indonesia advanced 1.03 percent, Timah gathered 0.43 percent, Bumi Resources surged 3.52 percent and Indofood Suskes was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and mostly improved as the session progressed.

The Dow jumped 268.91 points or 0.80 percent to finish at 33,973.01, while the NASDAQ spiked 189.04 points or 1.76 percent to close at 10,931.67 and the S&P 500 advanced 50.36 points or 1.28 percent to end at 3,969.61.

The strength on Wall Street reflected optimism about the highly anticipated consumer price inflation report due later today.

The report is expected to show a slowdown in the annual rate of consumer price growth and could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates.

Crude oil prices rose sharply Wednesday on hopes for a global economic recovery and the possible impact of sanctions on Russian crude output. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for February jumped by $2.29 or 3.1 percent at $77.41 a barrel, rising for a fifth straight session.