Indonesia Bourse May Test Support At 7,200 Points

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has moved lower in four straight sessions, slumping almost 80 points or 1.1 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just beneath the 7,250-point plateau and it may extend its losing streak again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests further consolidation on concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were sharply lower and the Asian markets also figure to open in the red.

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

For the day, the index shed 29.29 points or 0.40 percent to finish at 7,247.46 after trading between 7,238.34 and 7,305.45.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga shed 0.51 percent, while Bank Danamon Indonesia collected 0.35 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia added 0.43 percent, Bank Central Asia gained 0.51 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia rallied 1.24 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison dipped 0.22 percent, Indocement lost 0.56 percent, Semen Indonesia retreated 1.24 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur sank 0.76 percent, United Tractors increased 0.52 percent, Astra International tumbled 1.92 percent, Energi Mega Persada fell 0.50 percent, Astra Agro Lestari skidded 1.12 percent, Vale Indonesia jumped 1.96 percent, Bumi Resources surged 4.71 percent and Bank Mandiri, Aneka Tambang and Timah were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and remained deep in the red throughout the session, ending near daily lows.

The Dow plummeted 404.64 points or 1.04 percent to finish at 38,585.19, while the NASDAQ tumbled 267.92 points or 1.65 percent to close at 15,939.59 and the S&P 500 sank 52.30 points or 1.02 percent to end at 5,078.65.

The weakness on Wall Street came as traders continued to cash in on recent strength in the markets, which lifted the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ to record closing highs last week.

Uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates also weighed on the markets ahead of congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. He's due to testify before the House Financial Services Committee later today and the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday.

In U.S. economic news, the Institute for Supply Management said U.S. service sector growth slowed more than expected in February. Also, The Commerce Department noted a drop in new orders for U.S. manufactured goods in January.

Crude oil futures settled lower on Tuesday, falling for the second consecutive session on concerns about the outlook for demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended down $0.59 at $78.15 a barrel.