Lower Open Predicted For Indonesia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market on Thursday ended the three-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 70 points or 1 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 6,950-point plateau and it's likely to open in the red again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed and flat ahead of key U.S. employment data later in the day. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets are expected to follow that lead.

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

For the day, the index slipped 13.40 points or 0.19 percent to finish at 6,953.26.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga dropped 0.87 percent, while Bank Mandiri advanced 0.84 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia shed 0.68 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia and Bank Central Asia both fell 0.27 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia added 0.45 percent, Indocement tumbled 1.83 percent, Semen Indonesia skidded 1.09 percent, Indofood Suskes improved 0.71 percent, United Tractors lost 0.57 percent, Energi Mega Persada gained 0.83 percent, Aneka Tambang dipped 0.25 percent, Vale Indonesia declined 0.84 percent, Timah climbed 1.11 percent, Bumi Resources sank 0.72 percent and Astra International, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison and Astra Agro Lestari were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened higher but faded as the day progressed, ending on opposite side of the unchanged line.

The Dow sank 168.33 points or 0.48 percent to finish at 34,721.91, while the NASDAQ added 15.66 points or 0.11 percent to close at 14,034.97 and the S&P 500 eased 7.21 points or 0.16 percent to end at 4,507.66.

The early strength on Wall Street partly reflected a positive reaction to a Commerce Department report showing consumer price growth in the U.S. accelerated in line with forecasts in July.

Buying interest waned over the course of the session, however, as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of the closely watched jobs report later today.

Crude oil moved sharply higher on Thursday, advancing for the sixth consecutive session following another steep drop in U.S. crude oil inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate for October delivery surged $2 or 2.5 percent to $83.63 a barrel, a three-week closing high.

Closer to home, Indonesia will see August figures for consumer prices later today, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 0.10 percent on month and 3.33 percent on year following the 0.21 percent monthly increase and the 3.08 percent annual gain in July. Core CPI is seen higher by 2.30 percent on year, slowing from 2.43 percent in the previous month.