Soft Start Expected For Indonesia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, gathering more than 310 points or 3.9 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just beneath the 8,240-point plateau although it figures to open in the red on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky, with optimism over earnings likely offset by profit taking. The European markets were slightly higher and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The JCI finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares, telecoms and resource stocks.

For the day, the index rallied 149.11 points or 1.84 percent to finish at the daily high of 8,238.08 after moving as low as 8,161.19.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga fell 0.29 percent, while Bank Mandiri climbed 1.16 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia collected 0.25 percent, Bank Central Asia surged 7.62 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia rallied 2.17 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison soared 6.37 percent, Indocement sank 0.82 percent, Semen Indonesia spiked 2.39 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur rose 0.34 percent, United Tractors strengthened 1.32 percent, Astra International improved 1.27 percent, Energi Mega Persada added 0.53 percent, Astra Agro Lestari jumped 1.58 percent, Aneka Tambang gained 0.61 percent, Vale Indonesia increased 1.17 percent, Bumi Resources was up 1.54 percent and Bank Danamon Indonesia and Timah were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened flat on Tuesday and hugged the line for most of the day, finally finishing on opposite sides and little changed.

The Dow gained 218.16 points or 0.47 percent to finish at a record 46,924.74, while the NASDAQ slipped 36.88 points or 0.16 percent to end at 22,953.67 and the S&P 500 perked 0.22 points or 0.00 percent to close at 6,735.35.

The advanced by the Dow reflected a positive reaction to solid earnings news from companies like 3M (MMM), Coca-Cola (KO), Salesforce (CRM), Amazon (AMZN) and Sherwin-Williams (SHW).

Traders may have been reluctant to continue buying stocks amid lingering concerns about U.S.-China trade tensions and the ongoing government shutdown.

A lack of major U.S. economic data due in part to the shutdown may also have kept some traders on the sidelines ahead of the release of closely watched consumer price inflation data on Friday.

Crude oil prices advanced on Tuesday as easing U.S.-China trade friction overrode a stronger greenback and excess supply concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery was up $0.38 or 0.66 percent at $57.90 per barrel.

Closer to home, the central bank in Indonesia will wrap up its monetary policy meeting and then announce its decision on interest rates. The central bank is expected to lower its benchmark lending rate to 4.50 percent from 4.75 percent.