Indonesia Bourse May Test Support At 7,200 Points

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has finished lower in five straight sessions, sinking more than 220 points or 3.1 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 7,200-point plateau and it's got another weak lead for Wednesday's trade.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative amid concerns about the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets are expected to split the difference.

The JCI finished sharply lower on Tuesday following losses from the resource and energy stocks, while the financials were up and the cement companies were mixed.

For the day, the index dropped 83.37 points or 1.14 percent to finish at 7,200.20 after trading between 7,180.16 and 7,311.64.

Among the actives, Bank Mandiri and Indofood Suskes both fell 0.39 percent, while Bank Danamon Indonesia rallied 2.10 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia jumped 1.35 percent, Bank Central Asia collected 0.52 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia strengthened 1.33 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison shed 0.54 percent, Indocement dropped 0.81 percent, Semen Indonesia advanced 0.80 percent, United Tractors rose 0.33 percent, Energi Mega Persada sank 0.80 percent, Aneka Tambang slid 0.30 percent, Vale Indonesia plunged 3.04 percent, Timah retreated 1.59 percent, Bumi Resources skidded 1.03 percent and Astra International, Bank CIMB Niaga, Astra Agro Lestari and Kalbe Farma were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and largely stayed under water, although the NASDAQ managed to break barely into the green.

The Dow shed 157.85 points or 0.42 percent to finish at 37,525.16, while the NASDAQ rose 13.94 points or 0.09 percent to close at 14,857.71 and the S&P 500 slipped 7.04 points or 0.15 percent to end at 4,756.50.

The early weakness on Wall Street came as some traders looked to cash in on Monday's strong gains amid lingering uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates.

While the Federal Reserve is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged later this month, traders have recently become increasingly skeptical about whether the central bank will cut rates in March.

In economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing the U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly shrank in November.

Oil prices climbed higher on Tuesday as rising geopolitical risks raised concerns about possible supply and trade disruptions. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February settled higher by $1.47 at $72.24 a barrel.