(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has finished higher in nine straight sessions, gathering almost 230 points or 3.8 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just above the 6,255-point plateau and it has another positive lead for Thursday's trade.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on mixed earnings news and a jump in crude oil prices. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The JCI finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the cement and resource stocks, while the financials were mixed.
For the day, the index advanced 32.31 points or 0.52 percent to finish at the daily high of 6,257.81 after moving as low as 6,197.95.
Among the actives, Bank Danamon Indonesia skidded 1.09 percent, while Bank Mandiri surged 3.66 percent, Bank Central Asia shed 0.40 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia soared 3.07 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia advanced 0.97 percent, Indosat tumbled 2.65 percent, Indocement spiked 1.88 percent, Semen Indonesia added 0.80 percent, Indofood Suskes jumped 2.37 percent, Aneka Tambang accelerated 2.69 percent, Vale Indonesia gained 2.06 percent, Timah climbed 3.31 percent and Bumi Resources was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as stocks showed a lack of direction on Wednesday, bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before ending modestly higher.
The Dow added 45.85 points or 0.17 percent to end at 26,833.95, while the NASDAQ rose 15.50 points or 0.19 percent to 8,119.79 and the S&P 500 rose 8.53 points or 0.28 percent to 3,004.52.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders digested soft earnings news from big-name companies like Boeing (BA), Caterpillar (CAT) and Texas Instruments (TXN).
A lack of major developments on the Brexit and U.S.-China trade deal fronts also kept traders reluctant to make more significant moves.
Crude oil futures rose sharply and settled at a one-month high on Wednesday after data showed an unexpected decline in crude inventories in the U.S. last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended up $1.49 or 2.7 percent at $55.97 a barrel.
Closer to home, the central bank in Indonesia will wrap up its monetary policy meeting today and then announce its decision on interest rates. The bank is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 5.25 percent.
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