Indonesia Bourse May Extend Wednesday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has moved higher in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had fallen almost 40 points or 0.5 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 8,320-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive, riding solely on the strength of technology companies. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are likely to follow that lead.

The JCI finished modestly higher on Wednesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, resource stocks and cement companies.

For the day, the index added 41.40 points or 0.50 percent to finish at 8,322.23 after trading between 8,259.75 and 8,373.48.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga rose 0.27 percent, while Bank Mandiri tumbled 1.40 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia fell 0.35 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia climbed 1.12 percent, Bank Central Asia collected 1.38 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia rallied 2.58 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison jumped 2.15 percent, Indocement added 0.39 percent, Semen Indonesia tanked 2.57 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur shed 0.38 percent, United Tractors spiked 2.27 percent, Astra International vaulted 1.53 percent, Energi Mega Persada stumbled 2.52 percent, Astra Agro Lestari declined 1.30 percent, Aneka Tambang accelerated 1.83 percent, Vale Indonesia soared 5.00 percent, Timah surged 4.58 percent and Bumi Resources slumped 1.46 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and remained in the green throughout the trading day, ending at session highs.

The Dow climbed 307.65 points or 0.63 percent to finish at 49,482.15, while the NASDAQ jumped 288.40 points or 1.26 percent to close at 23,152.08 and the S&P 500 gained 56.06 points or 0.81 percent to end at 6,946.13.

The strength on Wall Street reflected optimism ahead of the release of earnings news from AI chipmaker and market leader Nvidia (NVDA) after the close of Wednesday's trade. The company's earnings came in at $42.960 billion, or $1.76 per share compared to $22.091 billion, or $0.89 per share, last year.

Software stocks turned in some of the market's best performances on the day, with the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index spiking by 3.1 percent. The index continued to regain ground after slumping to its lowest closing level in ten months on Monday amid easing AI disruption concerns.

The price of crude oil ticked lower on Wednesday after the Energy Information Administration reported a substantial rebound by U.S. crude oil inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery slipped $0.15 or 0.2 percent to $65.48 a barrel.