Steady Start Eyed For Indonesia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market on Thursday ended the three-day losing streak in which it had plunged almost 300 points or 4.9 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just beneath the 6,000-point plateau and it's likely to hover around that area again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is weak on continuing tensions in the Middle East and weak economic data. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed to lower and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

Th JCI finished sharply higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares and cement stocks, while the resource companies were mixed.

For the day, the index jumped 115.16 points or 1.96 percent to finish at 5,999.04 after trading between 5,864.00 and 6,056.20.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga expanded 1.60 percent, while Bank Mandiri collected 0.76 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia rose 0.25 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia advanced 0.90 percent, Bank Central Asia improved 1.69 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia climbed 1.42 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison lost 0.28 percent, Indocement increased 1.22 percent, Semen Indonesia jumped 1.71 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur shed 0.37 percent, United Tractors rallied 2.27 percent, Astra International surged 6.30 percent, Energi Mega Persada strengthened 1.30 percent, Astra Agro Lestari sank 0.82 percent, Antam fell 0.36 percent, Vale Indonesia slumped 1.31 percent, Timah soared 4.30 percent and Bumi Resources vaulted 1.37 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened slightly higher on Thursday but spent most of the day bouncing back and forth across the line, finally ending mixed.

The Dow added 71.72 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 51,920.62, while the NASDAQ slumped 118.03 points or 0.46 percent to end at 25,358.60 and the S&P 500 dipped 0.73 points or 0.01 percent to close at 7,357.49.

The aimless trade came as investors digested a slew of economic data and some corporate news, including earnings update from Micron Technology - which rallied on stronger-than-expected earnings and an upward revision in revenue forecast.

In economic news, the Labor Department showed the core PCE price index - which is the Federal Reserve's preferred gauge of underlying inflation - moved further above the Federal Reserve's percent target. Also, the Commerce Department said new orders dropped more than expected, while jobless claims were down from a week earlier and GDP slowed in the first quarter.

Traders also kept an eye on developments in the Middle East as tensions along the Strait of Hormuz persist.

Crude oil prices jumped on Thursday as supply disruption threats reappeared after a projectile hit a cargo ship near Oman across the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was up $1.49 or 2.12 percent at $71.83 per barrel.