The Indonesia stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, rising more than 100 points or 1.6 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just above the 6,350-point plateau and it's called higher again on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive, despite weaker than expected jobs data from the U.S. and a drop in crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were higher on Friday and the Asian markets figure to at least open in similar fashion.
The JCI finished modestly higher on Friday as gains from the resource and cement stocks were capped by a mixed picture from the financial sector.
For the day, the index jumped 61.42 points or 0.98 percent to finish at the daily high of 6,353.74 after moving as low as 6,278.72. There were 216 gainers and 122 decliners, with 124 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Bumi Resources surged 6.52 percent, while Bank MNC Internasional soared 3.92 percent, XL Axiata spiked 3.08 percent, Vale Indonesia advanced 1.93 percent, Jasa Marga jumped 2.77 percent, Lotte Chemical tumbled 1.04 percent, Tiga Pilar Sejahtera Food shed 0.42 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia lost 0.70 percent, Indocement added 0.98 percent, Indofood perked 1.64 percent, Astra Agro Lestari gained 0.19 percent and Bank Mandiri and Voksel Electric were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as stocks extended a recent upward move on Friday as the major averages closed higher for the fourth straight session and again hit record closing highs.
The Dow gained 220.74 points or 0.88 percent to 25,295.87, while the NASDAQ climbed 58.64 points or 0.83 percent to 7,136.56 and the S&P rose 19.16 points or 0.70 percent to 2,743.15. For the week, the Dow added 2.3 percent, the NASDAQ soared 3.4 percent and the S&P jumped 2.6 percent.
The continued strength came even though the Labor Department noted weaker than expected job growth in December. Traders largely shrugged off the report, as analysts suggested that recent data points to overall strength in the labor market.
In other economic news, the Institute for Supply Management reported an unexpected slowdown in service sector activity in November. The Commerce Department noted the widest trade deficit in nearly six years in November, and factory orders jumped more than expected during the month.
Oil prices fell on Friday, slipping from highs last seen in 2015 thanks to soaring U.S. production. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 57 cents to $61.44 a barrel.
by RTT Staff Writer
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