The Indonesia stock market on Thursday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had jumped almost 200 points or 2.9 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 7,115-point plateau although it's expected to reverse those losses on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on an improved outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The JCI finished sharply lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares and resource stocks.
For the day, the index tumbled 116.77 points or 1.61 percent to finish at 7,117.42 after trading between 7,072.47 and 7,232.95.
Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga stumbled 1.83 percent, while Bank Mandiri crashed 8.33 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia declined 2.19 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia surrendered 8.00 percent, Bank Central Asia retreated 2.55 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia weakened 3.64 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison shed 0.91 percent, Indocement plunged 6.77 percent, Semen Indonesia rallied 1.50 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur slid 0.40 percent, United Tractors sank 2.11 percent, Astra International added 0.49 percent, Energi Mega Persada fell 0.97 percent, Astra Agro Lestari dropped 1.15 percent, Aneka Tambang plummeted 7.93 percent, Vale Indonesia slumped 3.06 percent, Timah tumbled 5.49 percent and Bumi Resources lost 1.01 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened higher on Thursday and continued to strengthen as the day progressed, ending near session highs.
The Dow jumped 322.37 points or 0.85 percent to finish at 38,225.66, while the NASDAQ rallied 235.48 points or 1.51 percent to close at 15,840.96 and the S&P 500 advanced 45.81 points or 0.91 percent to end at 5,064.20.
The strength that emerged on Wall Street came as traders breathed a sigh of relief following the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday. Traders had expressed some concerns the Fed's next monetary policy move could actually be an interest rate hike rather than a cut, but Fed Chair Jerome Powell post-meeting alleviated those worries.
Earlier in the day, stocks saw volatility as traders reacted to the latest batch of U.S. economic data, including a Labor Department report showing a surge by labor costs in the first quarter of 2024. A separate Labor Department showed initial jobless claims came in unchanged last week, while a Commerce Department report showed the U.S. trade deficit narrowed slightly in March.
Oil futures failed to hold early gains and settled slightly lower on Thursday amid easing concerns over supply disruptions and worries about the outlook for economic growth and energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended down by $0.05 at $78.95 a barrel.
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