The global forecast for the Asian markets is directionless once again, with no clear catalysts for movement. Slightly better than expected economic data from the United States may be offset by tightening concerns from China over the weekend. Financial shares may see further buying, while property stocks could see mild selling. The European markets finished mixed, while the U.S. bourses ended slightly higher - and the Asian markets are expected to split the difference.
The JCI finished modestly higher on Thursday, pushed further into record territory by gains from the resource sector and the financials.
For the day, the index collected 16.10 points or 0.4 percent to finish at 3,786.10 after trading between 3,764.29 and 3,788.56. Volume was 6.5 billion shares worth 7 trillion rupiah. There were 131 gainers and 83 decliners.
Among the gainers, Bumi Resources Minerals surged 10.2 percent on its debut, while Krakatau Steel added 0.8 percent, Perkebunan London Sumatra Indonesia climbed 2.5 percent and Bank Internasional Indonesia spiked 24.7 percent.
Wall Street puts forth a mildly positive lead as stocks were able to crawl to a mostly higher close on Thursday, with the markets largely absorbing the day's upbeat news on weekly jobless claims with a grain of salt. Traders instead seemed to be awaiting news showing more substantive improvements in the U.S. economy.
On the economic front, the Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims fell to 421,000 in the week ended December 4, while economists had expected a more modest drop to 429,000. Nonetheless, the headline number remained above the two-year low set in late November.
In a compromise between President Barack Obama and Congressional Republicans, Obama agreed to a two-year extension of all of the Bush tax cuts, including the tax cuts for the wealthy, in exchange for a 13-month extension of unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed.
Also on the economic front, the Commerce Department issued a report showing that wholesale inventories increased by 1.9 percent in October, which was a much sharper rise than the 0.7 percent increase forecast by economists.
In corporate news, Smithfield Foods (SFD) shot higher on the day after reporting adjusted second quarter earnings of $0.80 per share, well above the $0.56 per share forecast by analysts. The stock surged up by 11.3 percent to its best closing price since April.
Global insurer AIG (AIG) also ended sharply higher after announcing that it will repay a loan it took from the New York Federal Reserve, which would in turn facilitate the sale of the Treasury's stake in the insurer, further marking a return to independence for the firm. Shares jumped by 13.2 percent to their highest close in just over a year.
On the other hand, Compellent Technologies (CML) sank after saying it is in talks to be acquired by Dell Inc. (DELL) at an 18 percent discount to its closing price of $33.65 on Wednesday. The stock slid by 13.7 percent from the historic closing high it set yesterday.
The major averages all saw upside in late-session dealing, with only the Dow unable to finish in positive territory. The Dow edged down by 2.42 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 11,370.06, while the NASDAQ climbed 7.51 points or 0.3 percent to 2,616.67 and the S&P 500 rose by 4.72 points or 0.4 percent to 1,233.00. With the modest gains, the NASDAQ once again set a new nearly three-year closing high, while the S&P 500 reached its best closing level in well over two years.
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