Indonesia Stocks Expected To Be Rangebound On Monday

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market bounced higher again on Friday, one day after snapping the three-day winning streak in which it had collected more than 150 points or 2.1 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 6,975-point plateau and it's likely to sit in that neighborhood again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets remains upbeat on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.

The JCI finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the cement companies, weakness from the resource stocks and a mixed picture from the financial sector.

For the day, the index added 19.66 points or 0.28 percent to finish at the daily high of 6,977.67 after trading as low as 6,919.63.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga added 0.58 percent, while Bank Mandiri shed 0.42 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia collected 0.36 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia improved 0.61 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia slumped 0.48 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison tumbled 2.15 percent, Indocement gained 0.53 percent, Semen Indonesia skyrocketed 5.58 percent, Indofood Suskes lost 0.39 percent, United Tractors plunged 2.45 percent, Astra International tanked 2.15 percent, Energi Mega Persada retreated 1.83 percent, Aneka Tambang dropped 0.91 percent, Vale Indonesia plummeted 2.34 percent, Timah declined 0.75 percent, Bumi Resources sank 0.89 percent and Bank Central Asia and Astra Agro Lestari were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened lower on Friday but broke into the green by midday and finished with mild gains.

The Dow rose 1.78 points or 0.01 percent to finish at 34,947.28, while the NASDAQ added 11.78 points or 0.08 percent to close at 14,125.48 and the S&P 500 gained 5.78 points or 0.13 percent to end at 4,514.02.

For the week, the NASDAQ surged 2.4 percent, the S&P jumped 2.2 percent and the Row rallied 1.9 percent.

Optimism about the outlook for interest rates has contributed to the recent advance, as the latest data has shown signs of easing inflation.

In economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing an unexpected increase in new residential construction and building permits in October.

Crude oil futures spiked on Friday, but the most active futures contract still posted its fourth straight weekly loss amid concerns about the outlook for near term energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December jumped $2.99 or 4.1 percent at $75.89 a barrel. WTI crude futures shed 4 percent in the week.