The Indonesia stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, dropping almost 80 points or 1.1 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just above the 7,490-point plateau and its looking at another soft start again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on ebbing optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets finished slightly lower and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.
The JCI finished slightly lower on Thursday following mixed performances from the financial shares and resource stocks.
For the day, the index slipped 21.21 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 7,480.08 after trading between 7,467.82 and 7,528.95.
Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga dropped 0.80 percent, while Bank Central Asia collected 0.72 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia retreated 1.42 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison rallied 2.51 percent, Indocement rose 0.36 percent, Semen Indonesia climbed 1.00 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur strengthened 1.44 percent, United Tractors stumbled 2.63 percent, Astra International advanced 0.99 percent, Energi Mega Persada sank 0.89 percent, Astra Agro Lestari skidded 1.14 percent, Aneka Tambang improved 1.32 percent, Jasa Marga gained 1.02 percent, Vale Indonesia slid 0.24 percent, Timah added 0.40 percent, Bumi Resources soared 2.34 percent and Bank Mandiri, Bank Danamon Indonesia, Bank Negara Indonesia and Bank Maybank Indonesia were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street suggests mild consolidation as the major averages opened slightly under water on Thursday and pretty much stayed that way throughout the session.
The Dow shed 57.88 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 42,454.12, while the NASDAQ dipped 9.57 points or 0.05 percent to close at 18,282.05 and the S&P 500 sank 11.99 points or 0.21 percent to end at 5,780.05.
The modest weakness on Wall Street followed the release of a highly anticipated Labor Department report showing consumer prices in the U.S. increased by slightly more than expected in the month of September.
The bigger than expected increase by consumer prices further offset optimism that the Federal Reserve will continue to aggressively lower interest rates in the coming months.
Negative sentiment was also generated in reaction to a separate Labor Department report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits increased by much more than expected last week.
Oil prices rose sharply on Thursday as worries about escalating tensions in the Middle East outweighed uncertainty about the outlook for demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended higher by $2.61 or about 3.56 percent at $75.85 a barrel.