12/18/2014 9:00 PM ET

The Indonesia stock market has finished higher now in consecutive trading days, advancing more than 85 points or 1.6 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index ended just below the 5,115-point plateau, and the market is looking at another firm start on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive again, with bargain hunting a likely result of continued optimism following the Federal Reserve’s policy announcement earlier in the week. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in the green.

The JCI finished sharply higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares and energy producers, plus a mixed performance from the resource stocks.

For the day, the index spiked 77.70 points or 1.54 percent to finish at the daily high of 5,113.35 after trading as low as 5,076.23. Volume was 10.47 billion shares worth 6.85 trillion rupiah.

Among the actives, Astra Agro Lestari spiked 4.01 percent, while Aneka Tambang dropped 1.53 percent, Bank Central Asia collected 0.97 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia jumped 1.27 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia and Bank Mandiri both added 0.47 percent, Bumi Resources plummeted 7.02 percent, Energi Mega Persada advanced 3.16 percent, XL Axiata gained 0.31 percent and Vale Indonesia fell 2.33 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as stocks jumped higher on Thursday, adding to Wednesday’s strong gains. With the extended rally, the major averages further offset the weakness earlier in the week.

The Dow soared 421.28 points or 2.4 percent to 17,778.15, while the NASDAQ jumped 104.08 points or 2.2 percent to 4,748.40 and the S&P 500 surged 48.34 points or 2.4 percent to 2,061.23.

Traders remained focused on the Fed’s statement indicating that it can be patient in beginning to normalize the stance of monetary policy.

The use of the word patient attracted considerable attention, although the Fed said the guidance is consistent with its previous pledge to keep rates at low levels for a considerable time.

Buying interest was also generated by a Labor Department report showing an unexpected drop in weekly jobless claims in the week ended December 13th.

by RTT Staff Writer

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