Indonesia Bourse May Snap Losing Streak On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, slumping almost 200 points or 3 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 6,470-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive ahead of the FOMC meeting later this week. The European and U.S. markets moved higher and the Asian markets are expected to follow that lead.

The JCI finished modestly lower on Monday following mixed performances from the financial shares and resource stocks.

For the day, the index slumped 43.68 points or 0.67 percent to finish at 6,471.95 after trading between 6,445.98 and 6,557.41.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga collected 0.60 percent, while Bank Mandiri retreated 1.27 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia surrendered 2.26 percent, Bank Central Asia stumbled 1.71 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia rallied 2.13 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison improved 1.59 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur strengthened 1.39 percent, United Tractors jumped 2.20 percent, Energi Mega Persada shed 0.59 percent, Astra Agro Lestari climbed 1.30 percent, Aneka Tambang soared 4.09 percent, Jasa Marga advanced 1.03 percent, Vale Indonesia spiked 3.25 percent, Timah tumbled 1.94 percent, Bumi Resources accelerated 2.17 percent and Astra International, Bank Danamon Indonesia, Bank Maybank Indonesia, Indocement and Semen Indonesia were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Monday, dipped midday but still finished solidly in the green.

The Dow jumped 353.44 points or 0.85 percent to finish at 41,841.63, while the NASDAQ climbed 54.58 points or 0.31 percent to close at 17,808.66 and the S&P 500 improved 36.18 points or 0.64 percent to end at 5,675.12.

The strength on Wall Street came as traders continued to pick up stocks at reduced levels following recent weakness, which saw the S&P 500 plunge into correction territory last Thursday.

Positive sentiment was also generated in reaction to the Commerce Department's report on U.S. retail sales in the month of February, which wasn't as bad as feared.

However, traders seemed reluctant to make more significant moves ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday. While the Fed is almost universally expected to leave interest rates unchanged, traders will look to the accompanying statement and officials' latest projections for clues about the outlook for rates.

Oil futures rose on Monday on hopes of improved demand from China after plans to boost consumer spending, and on possible supply disruptions due to the tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April closed higher by $0.40 or 0.6 percent at $67.58 a barrel.