FX.co ★ Indonesia Shares May Reclaim 7,100-Point Level

Before the extended Ascension Day weekend, the Indonesian stock market noted a decline in two consecutive sessions, falling nearly 50 points or by 0.7 percent. Consequently, the Jakarta Composite Index is just under the 7,090-point mark although it could possibly recover on the following Monday.

The international prediction for Asian markets shows a mild upward trajectory due to contrasting factors that influence interest rates. The European markets rose, the U.S. markets showed mixed results and were unchanged overall, and the Asian markets are anticipated to balance out these differences.

Subsequently, the Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) closed slightly lower on Wednesday. This was a result of losses from finance shares, resource stocks, and cement firms. For the day, the index declined by 34.82 points or 0.49 percent to close at 7,088.79 after trading within 7,071.35 and 7,164.31.

Active firms included Bank CIMB Niaga, which dropped by 1.92 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia saw a drop of 0.75 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia fell by 0.64 percent, and Bank Central Asia experienced a sizeable plunge of 3.35 percent. Meanwhile, Indocement went down by 3.89 percent, and Semen Indonesia plummeted by 4.68 percent. In contrast, Indofood Sukses Makmur rose by 0.81 percent.

The Wall Street outlook remains cautiously positive as major averages unveiled highs on Friday eventually leading to mixed and unchanged results. The Dow Jones was up 125.08 points or 0.3 percent to close at 39,512.84, while the NASDAQ marginally fell by 5.40 points or 0.1 percent to settle at 16,340.87, and the S&P 500 rose by 8.60 points or 0.2 percent to end the day at 5,222.68.

On a weekly basis, the NASDAQ increased by 1.14 percent, while the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones surged by 1.85 percent and 2.16 percent, respectively. Recent data revealing slack in the U.S labor market induced renewed optimism about interest rates' outlook, bolstering investor confidence in the Federal Reserve's potential to lower interest rates in the future.

However, these expectations were partially tempered by a University of Michigan report indicating a steep decline in U.S. consumer sentiment in May and a significant increase in year-ahead inflation expectations. Furthermore, crude oil prices fell on Friday due to concerns that the Federal Reserve may extend the period of higher interest rates and uncertainty about the oil demand outlook due to signs of slowing economic growth. As a result, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June sank $1.00 to settle at $78.26 a barrel.