(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has moved lower in five straight sessions, slumping more than 500 points or 6.8 percent in that span. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just beneath the 7,130-point plateau although it's overdue for support on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on easing oil prices and support from technology shares. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mostly higher and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The JCI finished sharply lower on Friday with damage across the board, especially among the financial, cement, resource and food sectors.
For the day, the index plummeted 249.12 points or 3.38 percent to finish at 7,129.49 after trading between 7,115.97 and 7,383.40.
Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga retreated 1.32 percent, while Bank Mandiri stumbled 2.81 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia cratered 6.06 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia and Timah both tanked 2.58 percent, Bank Central Asia plunged 5.84 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia surrendered 2.85 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison gained 0.77 percent, Indocement declined 1.40 percent, Semen Indonesia tumbled 5.75 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur skidded 1.08 percent, United Tractors contracted 2.00 percent, Energi Mega Persada plummeted 9.09 percent, Astra Agro Lestari rallied 1.69 percent, Aneka Tambang advanced 0.75 percent, Bumi Resources crashed 6.09 percent and Astra International and Vale Indonesia were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is mixed as the Dow opened lower and finished the same way, while the NASDAQ and S&P began in the green and picked up steam as the day progressed.
The Dow shed 79.59 points or 0.16 percent to finish at 49,230.71, while the NASDAQ surged 398.10 points or 1.63 percent to end at 24,836.60 and the S&P 500 gained 56.68 points or 0.80 percent to close at 7,165.08.
For the week, the Dow slipped 0.4 percent, the NASDAQ jumped 1.5 percent and the S&P added 0.6 percent.
The rebound by the broader markets came amid a spike by shares of Intel (INTC) after the chipmaker reported much better than expected first quarter earnings and forecast Q2 revenues above estimates.
Buying interest was also generated in reaction to a pullback by the price of crude oil, which has soared over the past few sessions. President Donald Trump's announcement of a three-week extension of the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon has also weighed on crude oil prices.
Crude oil prices slumped on Friday as the prospects of a peace deal between U.S. and Iran gather steam, lowering Middle East tensions. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was down $1.68 or 1.75 percent at $94.17 per barrel.
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