Win Streak May Continue For Indonesia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has tracked higher in four straight sessions, improving more than 400 points or 5.3 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 7,890-point plateau and it's expected to open higher again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on continued optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to at least open in similar fashion, although profit taking may be in order later in the day.

The JCI finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the resource stocks and cement companies, while the financial sector was mixed.

For the day, the index jumped 101.21 points or 1.30 percent to finish at 7,892.91 after trading between 7,835.30 and 7,903.05.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga collected 0.29 percent, while Bank Mandiri shed 0.81 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia lost 0.78 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia perked 0.23 percent, Bank Central Asia advanced 0.85 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia improved 0.74 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison stumbled 2.16 percent, Indocement gained 0.39 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur fell 0.31 percent, United Tractors sank 0.83 percent, Astra International accelerated 3.71 percent, Energi Mega Persada dropped 0.90 percent, Astra Agro Lestari strengthened 1.42 percent, Aneka Tambang added 0.34 percent, Vale Indonesia rose 0.26 percent, Timah soared 3.48 percent, Bumi Resources tumbled 1.82 percent and Semen Indonesia was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and largely spent the day in positive territory.

The Dow surged 463.66 points or 1.04 percent to finish at 44,922.27, while the NASDAQ added 31.24 points or 0.14 percent to close at a record 21,713.14 and the S&P 500 rose 20.82 points or 0.32 percent to end at 6,466.58, also a record.

The early strength on Wall Street came as stocks continued to benefit from optimism about an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve following Tuesday's consumer price inflation data.

With the consumer price inflation data largely coming in line with economist estimates, the Fed is widely expected to lower rates by a least a quarter point next month.

CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating a 93.8 percent chance the Fed will cut rates by 25 basis points in September.

Crude oil prices fell on Wednesday after the International Energy Agency projected oversupply in the market this year due to surging supply from oil producers. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was down $0.55 or 0.87 percent at $62.62 per barrel.