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ndonesian shares extend gains for the third consecutive day as financial markets elsewhere in the world have indicated signs of recovery after recent market turmoil.

The Jakarta Composite Index (JCI), the main price benchmark at the Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX) gained 0.55 percent on Friday to close at 3,890 after a massive sell-off over the course of the past two weeks brought the index down by 7.8 percent.

Major stock markets throughout the world mostly closed higher following the 3.9 percent surge in the Wall Street’s Dow Jones on Thursday. The United Kingdom’s Financial Times also gained 2.2 percent,

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.7 percent to 19,727.43. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.1 percent to 4,186.40, while benchmarks in New Zealand, Singapore and mainland China also rose.

Also reversing course was South Korea’s Kospi, down by 1.3 percent to 1,793.31. Taiwan and India’s benchmarks also fell.

But Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average was lower — down 0.2 percent to 8,963.72 after spending the morning in positive territory.

“Looking at Indonesia’s economic fundamentals, the shake might not stay on too long. In the medium-term, our market will improve. The upside potentials are very huge,” Bank Mandiri chief economist Destry Damayanti told The Jakarta Post, referring to Indonesia’s expected 6.5 percent economic growth this year, which will also boost corporate profits and lure investors’ interests in stocks.

Indonesia’s stock index, the best performer among Asian major indexes, has gained 5 percent so far this year and 13 percent before the market was hit by negative sentiment from the West.

In the past two weeks, global financial markets were hit hard by massive sell-offs as investors feared that mounting debt woes in the world’s largest economies — European countries and the US — may slow global economic growth. The overall outlook became further clouded by the US credit rating downgrade, for the first time in history, by Standard & Poor’s. The move rocked global markets.

“Market sentiments have been very negative,” Destry said.

The bourse’s data shows foreign investors, who owned 58 percent of the country’s publicly traded stocks, continued booking a net sell since Wednesday of last week (Aug. 3) through Friday (Aug. 12).

“The continuous selling action may potentially slow gains,” Kiwoom Securities said in its research note.

Global economic uncertainties have triggered the sell-offs in risky assets while pushing up safe haven assets such as gold, which recently surpassed US$1800 per ounce — its highest level in history.

The bourse’s data shows trading value and volume have been more than average over the past two weeks.

On Friday, 5.6 billion shares worth Rp 5.3 trillion (US$620.1 million) changed hands. Foreign investors bought Rp 2 trillion stocks, but sold Rp 1.7 trillion, leaving net foreign sales for the day at Rp 337 billion.

“Volatility will not stop and will remain high as investors’ attention on global conditions is still deep,” Destry said.

IDX president director Ito Warsito has said that local investors have helped support the index’s resistance to global jitters, and, if maintained, could increase domestic ownership in the country’s tradable stocks.

The rupiah appreciated 0.3 percent this week to Rp 8,543 per dollar as of 4:03 p.m. in Jakarta, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The currency advanced 0.2 percent Friday.