The Indonesia stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, gathering almost 140 points or 2.2 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just above the 6,375-point plateau although it's expected to open under pressure on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian is mixed to lower thanks to renewed concerns over bond yields. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the somewhat overbought Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.
The JCI finished modestly higher on Wednesday following mixed performances from the financial shares and resource stocks.
For the day, the index added 17.55 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 6,376.76 after trading between 6,334.24 and 6,394.45.
Among the actives, Bank Danamon Indonesia shed 0.63 percent, while Bank CIMB Niaga skyrocketed 12.56 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia sank 2.03 percent, Bank Central Asia eased 0.21 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia collected 1.74 percent, Indosat climbed 1.35 percent, Telkom Indonesia was down 0.58 percent, Indocement tanked 2.72 percent, Semen Indonesia retreated 3.21 percent, Indofood Suskes added 0.40 percent, United Tractors fell 0.55 percent, Astra International gained 1.79 percent, Astra Agro Lestari lost 0.68 percent, Aneka Tambang skidded 1.10 percent, Vale Indonesia advanced 0.85 percent, Timah dropped 0.98 percent, Bumi Resources declined 1.61 percent and Bank Mandiri and Energi Mega Persada were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as stocks opened mixed on Wednesday but ended firmly in the red, with the tech-heavy NASDAQ hit especially hard.
The Dow sank 121.43 points or 0.39 percent to finish at 31,270.09, while the NASDAQ plummeted 361.04 points or 2.70 percent to end at 12,997.75 and the S&P 500 dropped 50.57 points or 1.31 percent to close at 3,819.72.
The continued weakness on Wall Street came as bond yields saw a notable rebound after trending lower over the past few sessions. Yields remain well off the highs set last week, but renewed concerns about the outlook for interest rates and inflation weighed on highly-flying tech stocks.
The rebound by yields came amid optimism about the coronavirus vaccine rollouts, which had also contributed to an advance by stocks futures before the bond markets opened. President Joe Biden has said the U.S. will have enough vaccine supply for every adult in America by the end of May.
In economic news, payroll processor ADP noted weaker than expected private sector job growth in February, while the Institute for Supply Management reported a slowdown in the pace of growth in U.S. service sector activity last month.
Crude oil futures were sharply higher Wednesday amid speculation that OPEC may decide to extend production curbs for the near future. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended up $1.53 or 2.62 percent at $61.28 a barrel.
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