Soft Start Predicted For Indonesia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has finished higher in two 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 investors may lock in gains on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on recession fears and concerns about the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were modestly lower and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.

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

For the day, the index perked 3.13 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 7,075.38.

Among the actives, Bank Danamon Indonesia declined 1.15 percent, while Bank CIMB Niaga advanced 0.93 percent, Bank Central Asia skidded 1.17 percent, Bank Mandiri collected 0.54 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia tumbled 2.16 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison tanked 2.41 percent, Indocement shed 0.54 percent, Semen Indonesia retreated 1.68 percent, Indofood Suskes loss 0.41 percent, United Tractors perked 0.28 percent, Energi Mega Persada and Astra International both sank 0.74 percent, Astra Agro Lestari rose 0.30 percent, Aneka Tambang improved 0.78 percent, Vale Indonesia soared 2.67 percent, Timah dropped 0.72 percent, Bumi Resources skyrocketed 7.84 percent and Bank Negara Indonesia was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild consolidation as the major averages opened sharply lower but clawed their way back as the day progressed to end only slightly in the red.

The Dow shed 42.45 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 30,273.87, while the NASDAQ lost 27.77 points or 0.25 percent to end at 11,148.64 and the S&P 500 dipped 7.65 points or 0.20 percent to close at 3,783.28.

The early weakness on Wall Street came as central banks around the world appear poised to continue raising interest in the months ahead, potentially tipping the global economy into a recession as they combat elevated inflation.

A rebound by treasury yields also weighed on the markets, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note regaining ground after easing in the two previous sessions. Selling pressure waned over the course of the session, however, as traders may feel the economic worries have been overdone.

Upbeat U.S. economic data has added to worries the Federal Reserve will continue to aggressively raising interest rates going into the end of the year as payroll processor ADP said private sector employment in the U.S. increased slightly more than expected in September.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday after OPEC agreed to impose output cuts, aiming to spur a recovery in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November climbed $1.24 or 1.4 percent at $87.76 a barrel.