The Indonesia stock market has climbed higher in back-to-back trading days, collecting more than 100 points or 1.6 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just above the 6,175 point plateau although it may open under pressure on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild consolidation on profit taking and uncertainty regarding trade between the United States and China. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The JCI finished sharply higher on Thursday following gains from the financial, food, cement and resource sectors.
For the day, the index climbed 62.14 points or 1.02 percent to finish at 6,177.72 after trading between 6,139.33 and 6,186.05.
Among the actives, Bank Danamon Indonesia climbed 1.37 percent, while Bank Mandiri soared 3.01 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia jumped 1.66 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia collected 1.18 percent, Indocement shed 0.38 percent, Indofood Suskes spiked 2.60 percent, Unilever Indonesia advanced 0.97 percent, Indosat slid 1.10 percent, Bumi Resources perked 1.56 percent, Aneka Tambang gathered 1.32 percent, Vale Indonesia surged 4.28 percent and Bank Central Asia, Semen Indonesia and United Tractors were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is murky as stocks showed a lack of direction on Thursday, bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before ending mixed.
The Dow added 70.11 points or 0.29 percent to 24,597.38, while the NASDAQ shed 27.98 points or 0.39 percent to 7,070.33 and the S&P 500 fell 0.53 points or 0.02 percent to 2,650.54.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders waffled between optimism and skepticism about a potential trade deal with China. Mostly, traders are skeptical the U.S. and China will reach a long-term trade agreement amid disputes over intellectual property and other key issues.
In economic news, the Labor Department noted a steeper than expected drop in initial jobless claims in the week ended December 8. Also, the Labor Department said import prices plunged more than expected in November and export prices also fell more than expected.
Crude oil prices rebounded after early weakness on Thursday, lifted by reports that Saudi Arabia is likely to slash shipments to U.S. refiners. Crude oil futures for January ended up $1.43 or 2.8 percent at $52.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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