(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market emphatically ended the two-day winning streak in which it had risen almost 30 points or 0.4 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 8,320-point plateau although it's likely to bounce back on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft amid geopolitical concerns, although support from gold and oil figure to limit the downside. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The JCI finished sharply lower on Wednesday with damage across the board after index provider MSCI warnings on transparency and investability.
For the day, the index plummeted 659.67 points or 7.35 percent to finish at 8,320.56 after trading between 8,187.73 and 8,596.17.
Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga retreated 1.65 percent, while Bank Mandiri contracted 5.20 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia tumbled 3.15 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia skidded 1.33 percent, Bank Central Asia cratered 6.33 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia and Semen Indonesia both surrendered 6.02 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison plunged 10.57 percent, Indocement shed 0.71 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur rallied 2.24 percent, United Tractors dropped 2.82 percent, Astra International sank 1.98 percent, Energi Mega Persada plummeted 14.97 percent, Astra Agro Lestari stumbled 4.21 percent, Aneka Tambang tanked 4.12 percent, Vale Indonesia slumped 6.25 percent, Timah lost 10.93 percent and Bumi Resources cratered 14.53 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is of little help as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday but tailed off and hugged the line, finishing mixed and little changed.
The Dow rose 12.19 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 49,015.60, while the NASDAQ added 40.35 points or 0.17 percent to close at 23,857.45 and the S&P 500 dipped 0.57 points or 0.01 percent to end at 6,978.03.
The choppy trading on Wall Street continued after the Federal Reserve announced its widely expected decision to leave interest rates unchanged.
The Fed said the decision to keep rates steady came amid elevated uncertainty about the economic outlook. The central bank also said it remains attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate of maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the long run.
Despite the choppy trading by the broader markets, gold stocks moved sharply higher amid a continued surge by the price of the precious metal, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 2.7 percent to a new record closing high.
Crude oil prices soared on Wednesday as Iran rejected any nuclear talks under threat even as a massive U.S. armada nears the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was up $0.85 or 1.36 percent at $63.24 per barrel.
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