Bargain Hunting May Boost Indonesia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has finished lower in four straight sessions, sinking more than 410 points or 5.8 percent in that span. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 7,020-point plateau and it's got a positive lead for Tuesday's trade.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on easing crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The JCI finished sharply lower again on Monday following losses among the resource stocks and financial shares, while the food and telecom sectors offered support.

For the day, the index tumbled 114.92 points or 1.61 percent to finish at 7,022.29 after trading between 6,917.32 and 7,120.19.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga and Bank Rakyat Indonesia both dropped 0.85 percent, while Bank Mandiri skidded 1.05 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia fell 0.40 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia jumped 1.89 percent, Bank Central Asia tumbled 1.82 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison climbed 1.00 percent, Indocement added 0.46 percent, Semen Indonesia tanked 2.41 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur vaulted 1.27 percent, United Tractors strengthened 1.38 percent, Astra International gained 0.43 percent, Energi Mega Persada sank 0.71 percent, Astra Agro Lestari shed 0.34 percent, Aneka Tambang plunged 4.46 percent, Vale Indonesia plummeted 5.31 percent, Timah cratered 4.72 percent and Bumi Resources stumbled 2.86 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Monday and remained firmly in the green throughout the trading day, snapping a four-day losing streak.

The Dow jumped 387.94 points or 0.83 percent to finish at 46,946.41, while the NASDAQ rallied 268.82 points or 1.22 percent to end at 22,374.18 and the S&P 500 spiked 67.19 points or 1.01 percent to close at 6,699.38.

The rebound on Wall Street came amid a sharp pullback by the price of crude oil after President Donald Trump called on other countries to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.

Crude oil prices slipped Monday as the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz showed mild signs of easing. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery was down $5.38 or 5.45 percent at $93.33 per barrel.

The pullback by oil prices helped ease recent inflation concerns, although the Federal Reserve is still widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged when it meets in the coming days.

In U.S. economic news, the Federal Reserve said that industrial production in the U.S. increased slightly more than expected in February.

Closer to home, Indonesia's central bank will conclude its monetary policy meeting later today and announce its decision on interest rates; the benchmark lending rate (4.75 percent), deposit facility rate (3.75 percent) and lending facility rate (5.50 percent) are all expected to be unchanged.