Indonesia Stock Market May Be Stuck In Neutral On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market on Tuesday halted the two-day losing streak in which it had fallen almost 40 points or 0.6 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just beneath the 6,940-point plateau although it may hand back some of those gains on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed on concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The JCI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the resource and cement stocks, while the financials came in mixed.

For the day, the index gathered 43.32 points or 0.63 percent to finish at 6,939.62.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga collected 0.59 percent, while Bank Mandiri shed 0.41 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia rallied 1.49 percent, Bank Central Asia retreated 1.65 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia plunged 1.90 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison plunged 3.33 percent, Indocement spiked 2.23 percent, Semen Indonesia jumped 1.94 percent, Indofood Suskes strengthened 1.86 percent, United Tractors dipped 0.28 percent, Energi Mega Persada increased 0.79 percent, Aneka Tambang rose 0.28 percent, Vale Indonesia soared 2.26 percent, Timah improved 1.28 percent and Bumi Resources, Astra International, Astra Agro Lestari and Bank Negara Indonesia were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages open sharply lower on Tuesday but fought back into the green before finally settling mixed and little changed.

The Dow rose 13.11 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 33,997,65, while the NASDAQ shed 34.24 points or 0.25 percent to close at 13,533.75 and the S&P 500 eased 0.43 points or 0.01 percent to end at 4,373.20.

The early weakness on Wall Street came after data showed bigger than expected increases in retail sales and industrial production last month, raising concerns the Federal Reserve may keep interest rates higher for longer or even announce a rate hike this year.

Higher bond yields and geopolitical concerns in the Middle East also kept investors wary.

Crude oil futures settled flat on Tuesday after a lackluster session as investors continued to track the developments on the geopolitical front and weighed the outlook for global demand and supply. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended at $86.66 a barrel, unchanged from the previous close.