The Indonesia stock market has climbed higher in back-to-back sessions, collecting almost 35 points or 0.7 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just above the 5,855-point plateau, although it may run out of steam on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to slightly lower, with a decline in crude oil prices likely to weigh. The European and U.S. markets were roughly flat but mostly in the red, and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.
The JCI finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares and resource stocks.
For the day, the index advanced 24.81 points or 0.43 percent to finish at 5,857.12 after trading between 5,819.53 and 5,866.99. There were 159 gainers and 142 decliners, with 130 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Tiga Pilar Sejahtera Foods plummeted 5.03 percent, while Indofood Sukses perked 1.47 percent, Bumi Resources advanced 0.83 percent, Bank Pan Indonesia spiked 1.95 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia collected 0.47 percent, Bank Mandiri jumped 1.92 percent, Bank MNC Internasional skidded 1.92 percent, Lotte Chemical added 0.78 percent, Jasa Marga shed 0.42 percent and XL Axiata gained 0.26 percent.
The lead from Wall Street provides little clarity as stocks moved mostly lower on Friday, although the Dow eked out a modest gain.
The Dow added 13.01 points or 0.1 percent to 21,797.79, while the NASDAQ fell 37.68 points or 0.6 percent to 6,360.19 and the S&P shed 3.67 points or 0.2 percent to 2,461.43. For the week, the NASDAQ tumbled 1.2 percent, the Dow slid 0.9 percent and the S&P lost 0.6 percent.
The weakness came amid concerns about the economic impact of Hurricane Irma, which made landfall in Florida early Sunday. Irma followed close on the heels of Hurricane Harvey, which led to widespread devastation and flooding in Texas.
In economic news, the Commerce Department said wholesale inventories rose more than expected in July, while the Federal Reserve said consumer credit jumped more than expected in July.
Crude oil futures fell Friday but held onto weekly gains as data showed the U.S. oil rig count fell again in what is becoming a rough hurricane season. U.S. West Texas Intermediate light crude oil shed 2.04 percent or $1 at $48.09 a barrel.
