Indonesia Stocks Poised To Open Under Pressure

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, gathering more than 65 points or 0.9 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just above the 7,075-point plateau although it may be stuck in neutral on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft ahead of key U.S. employment data, which will affect the outlook for interest rates and the likelihood of recession. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.

The JCI finished barely higher on Thursday following mixed performances from the financial shares and the resource stocks.

For the day, the index picked up 1.24 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 7,076.62.

Among the actives, Bank Negara Indonesia added 0.56 percent, while Bank Central Asia fell 0.30 percent, Bank Mandiri collected 0.54 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia slipped 0.66 percent, Indosat Oordeoo Hutchison lost 0.35 percent, Indocement retreated 1.35 percent, Indofood Suskes strengthened 1.24 percent, United Tractors sank 0.68 percent, Astra International skidded 1.12 percent, Energi Mega Persada gained 0.74 percent, Aneka Tambang shed 0.52 percent, Bumi Resources slumped 1.21 percent and Bank Danamon Indonesia, Bank CIMB Niaga, Astra Agro Lestari, Semen Indonesia, Vale Indonesia and Timah were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened slightly higher but quickly turned well into the red and remained that way for the rest of the session.

The Dow dropped 346.93 points or 1.15 percent to finish at 29,926.94, while the NASDAQ sank 75.33 points or 0.68 percent to end at 11,073.31 and the S&P 500 declined 38.76 points or 1.02 percent to close at 3,744.52.

The weakness on Wall Street came as traders continued to express concerns about the outlook for interest rates and the impact higher rates will have on the economy.

A continued rebound by treasury yields also weighed on the markets, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note extending the sharp upward move seen on Wednesday.

Traders were also looking ahead to the release of the Labor Department's closely watched monthly employment report later today.

Oil prices climbed higher on Thursday, rising for a fourth straight session after OPEC announced on Wednesday that it would cut production by 2 million barrels per day from November, while a drop in U.S. crude inventories last week also contributed to the rise in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November added $0.69 or 0.8 percent at $88.45 a barrel.