Indonesia Shares Expected To Remain Rangebound On Thursday

The Indonesia stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had dropped almost 140 points or 1.9 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 7,500-point plateau although it’s likely to rebound again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over earnings, with tech shares likely to lead the way higher. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The JCI finished slightly lower on Wednesday as losses from the financial and food companies were offset by support from the cement and resource stocks.

For the day, the index slipped 11.44 points or 0.15 percent to finish at 7,503.75 after trading between 7,502.01 and 7,549.27.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga fell 0.29 percent, while Bank Mandiri skidded 1.05 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia collected 1.21 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia tanked 2.84 percent, Bank Central Asia retreated 1.48 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia sank 0.80 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison rallied 3.17 percent, Indocement strengthened 1.67 percent, Semen Indonesia rose 0.40 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur declined 1.50 percent, United Tractors slumped 1.23 percent, Astra International stumbled 2.49 percent, Energi Mega Persada jumped 1.68 percent, Astra Agro Lestari shed 0.72 percent, Aneka Tambang surged 4.76 percent, Vale Indonesia soared 5.42 percent, Timah climbed 1.01 percent and Bumi Resources improved 0.89 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened mixed on Wednesday but quickly turned higher and spent the balance of the session in the green.

The Dow improved 81.38 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 44,193.12, while the NASDAQ rallied 252.87 points or 1.21 percent to end at 21,169.42 and the S&P 500 gained 45.87 points or 0.73 percent to close at 6,345.06.

Apple (AAPL) helped to lead the markets higher following reports the company will announce plans to invest $100 billion to expand its U.S. operations and increase its total investment in the U.S. over the next four years to $600 billion.

Stocks also benefitted from strong earnings news from companies like McDonald’s (MCD), which
reported second quarter results that exceeded estimates on both the top and bottom lines. Shopify (SHOP) also beat the street.

On the other hand, Super Micro Computer (SMCI), social media platform Snap (SNAP) and Disney (DIS) reported mixed third quarter results.

Crude oil lost early gains on Wednesday as Russia faces a threat of U.S. sanctions on its oil exports after August 8 if it fails to end its attempt to annex Ukraine. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was down $0.96 or 1.47 percent at $64.20 per barrel.

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