(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has moved lower in two straight sessions, retreating more than 200 points or 2.9 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just beneath the 7,100-point plateau and it's got another weak lead for Monday's trade.
The global forecast for the Asian markets continues to be negative thanks to the conflict in the Middle East and the resulting surge in oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.
The JCI finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the food, finance, cement and telecom sectors, while the resource companies were mixed.
For the day, the index dropped 67.03 point or 0.94 percent to finish at 7,097.06 after trading between 7,070.21 and 7,154.56.
Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga skidded 1.11 percent, while Bank Mandiri and Indofood Sukses Makmur both tumbled 1.65 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia sank 0.78 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia tanked 2.50 percent, Bank Central Asia cratered 2.55 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia stumbled 2.01 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison retreated 1.88 percent, Indocement crashed 2.33 percent, Semen Indonesia plunged 3.10 percent, United Tractors shed 0.65 percent, Astra International contracted 2.00 percent, Energi Mega Persada skyrocketed 12.54 percent, Astra Agro Lestari added 0.68 percent, Aneka Tambang rallied 2.04 percent, Vale Indonesia plummeted 4.46 percent, Timah rose 0.32 percent and Bumi Resources was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street remains grim as the major averages opened lower on Friday and got worse as the day progressed, ending at session lows.
The Dow plunged 793.46 points or 1.73 percent to finish at 45,166.64, while the NASDAQ tumbled 459.74 points or 2.15 percent to close at 20,948.36 and the S&P 500 dropped 108.31 points or 1.67 percent to end at 6,368.85.
For the week, the NASDAQ plummeted 3.2 percent, the S&P 500 dove 2.1 percent and the Dow slid 0.9 percent. The steep losses dragged the major averages down to their lowest closing levels in over eight months.
A continued surge by the price of crude oil weighed on Wall Street, with international benchmark Brent crude futures jumping back above $110 a barrel after soaring by more than 5 percent.
Crude oil prices skyrocketed on Friday after Iran shut down reports of peace talks for the ongoing conflict. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was up $5.32 or 5.63 percent at $99.80 per barrel.
Analysts suggest that the longer crude oil prices remain at elevated levels, the greater the fear of inflationary pressures continuing to climb.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
