FX.co ★ Indonesia Stock Market May Be Stuck In Neutral On Friday

The Indonesian stock market has witnessed an upward trend for three consecutive sessions, with the Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) climbing over 50 points or 0.8%. Currently, the JCI stands just above the 7,300-mark, though it is expected to open lower on Friday.

Globally, Asian markets are primed for a bout of profit-taking, particularly impacting the technology sectors. While European markets experienced gains, U.S. indices saw declines, and it is anticipated that Asian markets will mirror the latter trend.

On Thursday, the JCI saw a modest increase, buoyed by mixed performances across financial shares, cement stocks, and resource companies. The index gained 13.37 points or 0.18%, closing at 7,300.41, after fluctuating between 7,274.06 and 7,328.27.

Leading the actives, Bank Mandiri rose by 0.39%, Bank Negara Indonesia climbed 1.04%, while Bank Central Asia and Bank Rakyat Indonesia saw slight dips of 0.25% and 0.21%, respectively. Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison surged 4.55%, Indocement advanced 1.02%, but Semen Indonesia and Indofood Sukses Makmur fell 0.99% and 1.25%, respectively. United Tractors and Astra International also fell by 0.21% and 0.66%. Energi Mega Persada declined 0.93%, Astra Agro Lestari lost 0.44%, but Aneka Tambang increased by 1.12%, Timah rallied 4.12%, while Vale Indonesia sank 4.52%. Bumi Resources dropped 2.47%, with Bank Danamon Indonesia and Bank CIMB Niaga remaining unchanged.

Wall Street's lead was predominantly negative, with the main averages opening lower on Thursday. The Dow managed a slight gain of 32.39 points or 0.08% to close at 39,753.75. Conversely, the NASDAQ plunged 364.04 points or 1.95% to settle at 18,283.41, and the S&P 500 dropped 49.37 points or 0.88% to finish at 5,584.54.

Initial optimism concerning interest rates buoyed early trading on Wall Street, though this quickly dissipated as traders appeared to have already factored in a rate cut for September. The subsequent sell-off was driven by profit-taking, with significant tech winners like Nvidia (NVDA) leading the decline.

Despite this, the Federal Reserve is still expected to lower rates in September following a Labor Department report indicating a slight reduction in U.S. prices in June.

Oil futures saw an uptick on Thursday, supported by the hopeful prospect of an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve amidst positive inflation data. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August slightly decreased by $0.52, closing at $82.62 per barrel.