Indonesia Stock Market May Regain Thursday's Losses

The Indonesia stock market headed south again on Thursday, one day after it had ended the two-day slide in which it had stumbled almost 65 points or 1.2 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just beneath the 4,900-point plateau although it figures to bounce higher again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive, with financials expected to lead the way on eased investment regulations. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.

The JCI finished sharply lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares, resource stocks and cement companies.

For the day, the index dropped 68.00 points or 1.37 percent to finish at 4,896.73 after trading between 4,883.71 and 4,964.34.

Among the actives, Bank Danamon Indonesia tanked 2.14 percent, while Bank Mandiri tumbled 2.43 percent, Bank Central Asia collected 0.35 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia plunged 4.01 percent, Indosat sank 2.52 percent, Indocement declined 1.63 percent, Semen Indonesia fell 0.26 percent, Indofood Suskes surrendered 2.30 percent, Aneka Tambang shed 0.83 percent, Vale Indonesia lost 0.71 percent, Timah was down 2.46 percent andBumi Resources was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as stocks shook off early weakness on Thursday before moving sharply higher in the final hour of trade.

The Dow spiked 299.66 points or 1.18 percent to finish at 25,745.60, while the NASDAQ jumped 107.84 points or 1.09 percent to end at 10.017.00 and the S&P 500 climbed 33.43 points or 1.10 percent to close at 3,083.76.

The late rally on Wall Street was fueled by financial stocks following news that regulators plan to ease banking regulations, including allowing banks to more easily make investments in riskier funds such as venture capital funds.

The choppy trading seen for most of the session came as investors weighed recent optimism about an economic recovery against spiking coronavirus cases in a number of states. Traders may be worried about the possibility of states re-imposing restrictions on businesses.

In economic news, the Labor Department reported a much smaller than expected drop in initial jobless claims last week, while the Commerce Department noted a substantial rebound in durable goods orders last month.

Crude oil prices were higher Thursday, recovering from losses in the previous two sessions despite continued concerns about energy demand outlook following a surge in new coronavirus cases. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for August ended up $0.71 or 1.9 percent at $38.72 a barrel.