Indonesia Bourse May Run Out Of Steam On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has moved higher in six straight sessions, advancing more than 320 points or 4.3 percent in that span. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just beneath the 7,960-point plateau although the rally may stall on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft ahead of the FOMC's rate decision later today. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The JCI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following mixed performances from the resource and cement sectors, while the financials shares were soft.

For the day, the index added 20.58 points or 0.26 percent to finish at 7,957.70 after trading between 7,933.18 and 7,985.58.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga fell 0.29 percent, while Bank Mandiri skidded 1.10 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia retreated 1.59 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia dropped 0.91 percent, Bank Central Asia slumped 1.25 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia dipped 0.24 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison was down 0.26 percent, Indocement tanked 2.11 percent, Semen Indonesia strengthened 1.38 percent, United Tractors jumped 1.52 percent, Astra International and Timah both added 0.44 percent, Energi Mega Persada tumbled 1.55 percent, Astra Agro Lestari rallied 3.33 percent, Aneka Tambang spiked 3.15 percent, Vale Indonesia plummeted 5.13 percent, Bumi Resources advanced 0.88 percent and Indofood Sukses Makmur was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday but quickly turned lower and all ended under water.

The Dow slumped 125.55 points or 0.27 percent to finish at 45,757.90, while the NASDAQ fell 14.79 points or 0.07 percent to close at 22,333.75 and the S&P lost 8.52 points or 0.13 percent to end at 6,606.76.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves as the Federal Reserve began its two-day monetary policy meeting.

While the Fed is widely expected to lower interest rates by 25 basis points, traders will look to the accompanying statement as well as officials' latest economic projections for clues about the outlook for rates.

The Fed is widely expected to lower rates by another 25 basis points at both its October and December meetings, although Fed Chair Jerome Powell is likely to say future rate cuts will depend on incoming economic data.

Crude oil moved sharply higher on Tuesday amid the intensifying Russia-Ukraine war and ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision later today. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $1.22 or 1.93 percent at $64.52 per barrel.

Closer to home, the central bank in Indonesia will wrap up its monetary policy meeting later today and then announce its decision on interest rates. The bank is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate (5.00 percent), deposit facility rate (4.25 percent) and lending facility rate (5.75 percent) all unchanged.