Indonesia Shares Likely To Remain Rangebound On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the six-day winning streak in which it had rallied more than 410 points or 4.7 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just beneath the 8,950-point plateau although it's likely to head south again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft thanks to geopolitical concerns. The European and U.S. markets were down, likely consigning Asian markets at records highs to profit taking.

The JCI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares and resource stocks, while the cement companies were mixed.

For the day, the index increased 63.58 points or 0.72 percent to finish at 8,948.30 after trading between 8,841.02 and 8,956.73.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga collected 0.56 percent, while Bank Mandiri climbed 1.05 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia rallied 2.84 percent, Bank Central Asia added 0.62 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia gained 0.54 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison shed 0.46 percent, Indocement expanded 1.09 percent, Semen Indonesia sank 0.75 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur strengthened 1.52 percent, United Tractors rose 0.32 percent, Astra International soared 4.29 percent, Energi Mega Persada jumped 1.86 percent, Astra Agro Lestari was up 0.32 percent, Aneka Tambang vaulted 1.31 percent, Vale Indonesia spiked 2.73 percent, Timah surged 5.17 percent, Bumi Resources plummeted 6.88 percent and Bank Danamon Indonesia was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday but quickly headed south and spent most of the balance of the day in the red, finishing off session lows.

The Dow dropped 398.21 points or 0.80 percent to finish at 49,191.99, while the NASDAQ sank 24.03 points or 0.10 percent to close at 23,709.87 and the S&P 500 dipped 13.53 points or 0.19 percent to end at 6,963.74.

The choppy trading by the broader markets reflected uncertainty about the near-term outlook amid rising geopolitical tensions around the world and a flurry of proposals by President Donald Trump.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department released a report showing consumer prices in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of December.

Crude oil prices skyrocketed on Tuesday, extending a recent surge amid increasing geopolitical risks due to escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran, which have raised output-and-supply concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery was up $1.55 or 2.61 percent at $61.05 per barrel.