Indonesia Stock Market Tipped To Open Under Water

The Indonesia stock market on Thursday ended the six-day winning streak in which it had rallied more than 410 points or 4.7 percent to a record closing high. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 8,925-point plateau and it’s likely to open under pressure again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets offers little clarity ahead of key U.S. employment data. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and roughly flat and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The JCI finished slightly lower on Thursday following losses from the food sector and mixed performances from the financial shares, cement companies and resource stocks.

For the day, the index slipped 19.34 points or 0.22 percent to finish at 8,925.47 after trading between 8,918.41 and 9,002.92.

Among the actives, Bank Negara Indonesia rose 0.24 percent, while Bank Central Asia retreated 1.23 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia collected 0.27 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison advanced 0.93 percent, Indocement rallied 2.64 percent, Semen Indonesia sank 0.76 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur retreated 1.49 percent, United Tractors added 0.48 percent, Astra International fell 0.36 percent, Energi Mega Persada vaulted 1.23 percent, Astra Agro Lestari spiked 2.92 percent, Aneka Tambang plummeted 9.35 percent, Vale Indonesia cratered 5.14 percent, Timah stumbled 3.12 percent, Bumi Resources jumped 1.77 percent and Bank CIMB Niaga, Bank Mandiri and Bank Danamon Indonesia were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is murky as the major averages opened mixed on Thursday and spent much of the day on opposite sides of the line and ending the same way.

The Dow climbed 270.03 points or 0.55 percent to finish at 49,266.11, while the NASDAQ sank 104.26 points or 0.44 percent to end at 23,480.02 and the S&P 500 perked 0.51 points or 0.01 percent to close at 6,921.44.

The mixed performance on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make more significant moves ahead of the release of the Labor Department’s closely watched monthly jobs report later today.

The jobs data could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Federal Reserve’s next monetary policy meeting later this month. The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged at its January 27-28 meeting but is seen as likely to cut rates by at least another quarter point in the coming months.

Ahead of the monthly jobs report, a report released by the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits edged up slightly less than expected last week.

Crude oil prices skyrocketed on Thursday as data showed a decline in the U.S. crude inventories, offsetting global oversupply concerns and supporting prices. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery was up $1.70 or 3.04 percent at $57.69 per barrel.

Closer to home, Indonesia will see November numbers for retail sales later today; in October, sales were up 4.3 percent on year.