Lower Open Anticipated For Indonesia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, slipping more than 100 points or 1.6 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just above the 6,940-point plateau and it may take further damage on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat and mixed to lower on recession concerns and sliding crude oil prices. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The JCI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares and mixed performances from the resource and cement stocks.

For the day, the index lost 54.10 points or 0.77 percent to finish at 6,942.35.

Among the actives, Bank Danamon Indonesia retreated 1.67 percent, while Bank CIMB Niaga shed 0.49 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia lost 0.62 percent, Bank Central Asia fell 0.34 percent, Bank Mandiri tanked 2.15 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia slumped 2.79 percent, Indosat sank 0.74 percent, Indocement declined 1.30 percent, Semen Indonesia rallied 2.82 percent, Indofood Suskes tumbled 2.07 percent, United Tractors plunged 4.28 percent, Astra International surrendered 2.99 percent, Energi Mega Persada plummeted 5.65 percent, Aneka Tambang stumbled 1.61 percent, Vale Indonesia dropped 0.86 percent, Timah spiked 2.69 percent, Bumi Resources soared 3.12 percent and Astra Agro Lestari and Bakrie Sumatera Plantations were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is fairly flat as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday, spiked up and down throughout the day before finally ending the session mixed and little changed.

The Dow climbed 82.32 points or 0.27 percent to finish at 31,029.31, while the NASDAQ dipped 3.65 points or 0.03 percent to close at 11,177.89 and the S&P 500 eased 2.72 points or 0.07 percent to end at 3,818.83.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets kept traders on the sidelines following recent volatility.

Traders also kept an eye on remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who participated in a panel discussion at the European Central Bank Forum on Central Banking. Powell reiterated that the U.S. economy is "well positioned to withstand tighter monetary policy" but cautioned there's no guarantee the Fed can engineer a "soft landing."

In economic news, revised data from the Commerce Department showed U.S. economic activity shrank by slightly more than previously estimated in the first quarter of 2022.

Crude oil prices drifted lower Wednesday, snapping a three-day winning streak with traders looking to the two-day OPEC meeting that began today to discuss supply issues. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended lower by $1.98 or 1.8 percent at $109.78 a barrel.