The Indonesia stock market on Friday ended the three-day winning streak in which it had gathered more than 100 points or 1.7 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 6,070-point plateau although it figures to tick higher again on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian is cautiously optimistic, with support from technology stocks offset by weakness from crude oil prices. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The JCI finished barely lower on Friday as losses from the resource stocks were tempered by support from the cement and finance shares.
For the day, the index eased 1.51 points or 0.02 percent to finish at the daily low of 6,070.21 after peaking at 6,113.16.
Among the actives, Bank Danamon Indonesia shed 0.71 percent, while Bank CIMB Niaga collected 0.47 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia spiked 3.45 percent, Bank Central Asia advanced 1.06 percent, Bank Mandiri rallied 3.19 percent, Indofood Suskes and Indosat both skidded 1.12 percent, Indocement gained 0.40 percent, Semen Indonesia climbed 1.22 percent, United Tractors added 0.66 percent, Astra International slid 0.47 percent, Aneka Tambang plummeted 5.26 percent, Vale Indonesia crashed 4.15 percent, Timah tumbled 2.78 percent, Energi Mega Persada plunged 5.08 percent, Bumi Resources retreated 1.59 percent and Astra Agro Lestari and Bank Rakyat Indonesia were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks moved mostly higher on Friday, sending the Dow and the S&P 500 to fresh record closing highs.
The Dow climbed 297.03 points or 0.89 percent to finish at 33,800.60, while the NASDAQ added 70.88 points or 0.51 percent to end at 13,900.19 and the S&P gained 31.63 points or 0.77 percent to close at 4,128.80. For the week, the Dow rose 2 percent, the NASDAQ spiked 3.1 percent and the S&P jumped 2.7 percent.
The strength on Wall Street reflected continued optimism about a swift recovery by the U.S. economy. Traders are hopeful the economy may fully reopen soon after the Centers for Disease Control reported nearly 20 percent of Americans are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Repeated assurances the Federal Reserve will maintain its ultra-easy monetary policy for the foreseeable future may also have generated continued buying interest.
In economic news, the Labor Department said U.S. producer prices jumped more than expected in March.
Crude oil prices drifted lower Friday as worries about the outlook for energy demand amid a continued surge in coronavirus cases weighed on the commodity. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended lower by $0.28 or 0.5 percent at $59.32 a barrel.
Closer to home, Indonesia will provide February figures for retail sales later today; in January, sales were down 16.4 percent on year.
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