Mild Selling Pressure Tipped For Indonesia Shares

The Indonesia stock market on Thursday snapped the two-day slide in which it had slipped almost 10 points or 0.15 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just above the 7,090-point plateau although it's expected to see little movement on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with tech shares expected to weigh heavily. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The JCI finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the resource stocks and mixed performances from the financials and cement companies.

For the day, the index collected 47.82 points or 0.68 percent to finish at 7,091.76.

Among the actives, Bank Danamon Indonesia shed 0.54 percent, while Bank CIMB Niaga fell 0.44 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia improved 1.36 percent, Bank Central Asia jumped 1.75 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia collected 1.55 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison sank 0.78 percent, Indocement lost 0.54 percent, Semen Indonesia soared 2.68 percent, Indofood Suskes slid 0.40 percent, United Tractors retreated 1.36 percent, Astra International climbed 1.14 percent, Energi Mega Persada plunged 2.33 percent, Astra Agro Lestari added 0.58 percent, Aneka Tambang strengthened 1.66 percent, Vale Indonesia advanced 0.75 percent, Bumi Resources increased 0.53 percent and Bank Mandiri and Timah were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is murky as the major averages opened mixed on Thursday. The NASDAQ remained lower throughout the session, while the Dow was higher the whole day and the S&P bounced back and forth across the unchanged line, finally finishing in the red.

The Dow jumped 194.17 points or 0.61 percent to finish at 32,033.28, while the NASDAQ tumbled 178.32 points or 1.63 percent to end at 10,792.67 and the S&P 500 fell 23.30 points or 0.61 percent to close at 3,807.30.

The continued upward move by the Dow reflected positive reaction to earnings news from the likes of Caterpillar (CAT), Honeywell (HON), McDonald's (MCD) and Merck (MRK).

The index also benefited from a positive reaction to a report from the Commerce Department showing U.S. economic activity rebounded by slightly more than expected in the third quarter following two straight quarters of contraction.

Meanwhile, a steep drop by Meta Platforms (META) weighed on the tech-heavy NASDAQ, with the Facebook parent plunging by 24.5 percent after the company reported weaker than expected Q3 earnings and disappointing guidance.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Thursday, extending gains from the previous session amid optimism about demand growth. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December were up $1.17 or 1.3 percent at $89.08 a barrel.

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