Indonesia Shares Tipped To Open Higher On Friday

The Indonesia stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 80 points or 1.4 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just beneath the 6,115-point plateau although it's tipped to reverse those losses on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on stimulus hopes and the ongoing coronavirus vaccine rollout. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The JCI finished slightly lower on Thursday following mixed performances from the financial shares and resource stocks.

For the day, the index dipped 5.02 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 6,113.38 after trading between 6,075.83 and 6,160.98.

Among the actives, Bank Danamon Indonesia shed 0.59 percent, while Bank Mandiri climbed 1.48 percent, Bank CIMB Niaga soared 4.85 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia collected 0.23 percent, Bank Central Asia slid 0.22 percent, Indosat plummeted 6.86 percent, Indocement advanced 1.18 percent, Semen Indonesia rallied 2.58 percent, Indofood Suskes sank 0.72 percent, Astra Agro Lestari tanked 2.07 percent, Vale Indonesia tumbled 1.82 percent, Timah rose 0.33 percent, Bumi Resources skyrocketed 18.57 percent and Aneka Tambang and Bank Negara Indonesia were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks opened higher on Thursday and remained in the green throughout the session, sending the major averages to fresh record closing highs.

The Dow climbed 148.83 points or 0.49 percent to finish at 30,303.37, while the NASDAQ jumped 106.56 points or 0.84 percent to end at 12,764.75 and the S&P 500 gained 21.31 points or 0.58 percent to close at 3,722.48.

The early strength on Wall Street came amid positive developments on the stimulus front, with lawmakers signaling progress toward an agreement on a new relief package.

The positive sentiment was partly offset by a Labor Department report showing an unexpected increase in first-time claims for U.S. jobless benefits last week. However, while this raised concerns about the outlook for the labor market, it could also put further pressure on lawmakers to reach an agreement on a stimulus bill.

Crude oil prices were up for the fourth straight day on Thursday, hitting a 10-month closing high on optimism about a coronavirus relief package in the U.S. and the rollout of vaccines. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended higher by $0.54 or 1.1 percent at $48.36 a barrel.

Market Analysis