(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market on Thursday halted the two-day slide in which it had dropped more than 100 points or 1.6 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 6,580-point plateau and it's set to open higher again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, supported by bargain hunting and crude oil prices. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The JCI finished sharply higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares and resource stocks, while the cement companies were soft.
For the day, the index jumped 76.14 points or 1.17 percent to finish at 6,583.82 after trading between 6,484.58 and 6,586.90.
Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga shed 0.51 percent, while Bank Negara Indonesia climbed 2.63 percent, Bank Central Asia collected 2.74 percent, Bank Mandiri jumped 1.77 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia gathered 2.94 percent, Indosat dropped 0.96 percent, Indocement fell 0.46 percent, Semen Indonesia dipped 0.31 percent, Indofood Suskes sank 0.77 percent, United Tractors surged 5.45 percent, Astra International perked 3.54 percent, Astra Agro Lestari added 0.51 percent, Aneka Tambang spiked 3.08 percent, Vale Indonesia accelerated 2.13 percent, Timah rallied 2.27 percent, Bumi Resources soared 4.62 percent and Bank Danamon Indonesia, Jasa Marga and Bakrie Sumatera Plantations were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher on Thursday and largely remained that way to finish with solid gains.
The Dow surged 617.75 points or 1.82 percent to finish at 34,639.70, while the NASDAQ advanced 127.27 points or 0.83 percent to close at 15,381.32 and the S&P 500 jumped 64.04 points or 1.42 percent to end at 4,577.10.
The rebound on Wall Street partly reflected bargain hunting following the steep drop on Wednesday, extending the rollercoaster ride stocks have been on since news of the detection of omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Traders have seemed extremely sensitive to omicron-related news amid concerns the variant could derail the economic recovery even as the Federal Reserve begins scaling back stimulus.
In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department released a report showing a modest rebound by initial jobless claims last week.
Crude oil prices rallied on Thursday after falling to a three-month low in the previous session, shaking off plans by OPEC to increase output. West Texas Intermediate for January delivery jumped $0.93 or 1.4 percent to $66.50 a barrel.
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