Indonesia Stock Market May Extend Friday's Gains

The Indonesia stock market on Friday ended the two-day losing streak in which it had plummeted more than 350 points or 7 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 5,015-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is fairly flat, although technology stocks may see further profit taking. The European and U.S. bourse were mixed but little changed on Friday and the Asian markets are tipped to follow suit.

The JCI finished sharply higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares and resource stocks.

For the day, the index surged 125.25 points or 2.56 percent to finish at the daily high of 5,016.71 after moving as low as 4,754.80.

Among the actives, Bank Mandiri collected 1.86 percent, while Bank CIMB Niaga jumped 2.72 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia spiked 4.06 percent, Indosat skyrocketed 8.17 percent, Indocement tanked 2.30 percent, Indofood Suskes accelerated 4.48 percent, Astra Agro Lestari soared 6.36 percent, Aneka Tambang rallied 4.73 percent, Vale Indonesia surged 4.66 percent, Timah climbed 3.35 percent and Semen Indonesia, Bank Danamon Indonesia and Bumi Resources were unchanged

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as stocks showed a lack of direction on Friday, bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before finishing mixed.

The Dow added 131.06 points or 0.48 percent to finish at 27,665.64, while the NASDAQ lost 66.05 points or 0.60 percent to end at 10,853.54 and the S&P 500 rose 1.78 points or 0.05 percent to close at 3,340.97. For the week, the Dow lost 1.7 percent, the NASDAQ sank 4.1 percent and the S&P fell 2.5 percent.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders were reluctant to make significant moves after the substantial volatility in the past several sessions.

Traders may also have been looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy decision scheduled for next Wednesday. The Fed is widely expected to leave rates at near-zero levels but could make tweaks to its accompanying statement. The central bank's latest economic projections may also attract some attention.

In economic news, the Labor Department said consumer prices increased more than anticipated in August, as did core CPI.

Crude oil prices were sluggish on Friday but managed to close slightly higher, weighed by worries about the outlook for energy demand due to a continued surge in coronavirus cases. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for October ended up $0.03 or 0.08 percent at $37.33 a barrel. WTI crude oil futures lost 6 percent for the week.