Indonesia Stock Market May See Continued Strength On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last five trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had gathered more than 35 points or 0.5 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 6,885-point plateau and it's expected to open higher again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with bargain hunting expected ahead of key inflation data later in the week. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were solidly higher and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The JCI finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the financial and energy shares, weakness from the cement companies and a mixed picture from the resource stocks.

For the day, the index improved 33.52 points or 0.49 percent to finish at 6,886.37.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga surged 4.09 percent, while Bank Mandiri jumped 1.73 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia soared 3.69 percent, Bank Central Asia strengthened 1.37 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia rallied 2.24 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison retreated 1.42 percent, Indocement tanked 2.48 percent, Semen Indonesia tumbled 1.77 percent, Indofood Suskes rose 0.35 percent, United Tractors gained 0.37 percent, Astra International climbed 1.10 percent, Energi Mega Persada skyrocketed 12.17 percent, Astra Agro Lestari added 0.65 percent, Aneka Tambang advanced 0.99 percent, Vale Indonesia slumped 1.48 percent, Timah improved 0.54 percent, Bumi Resources sank 0.75 percent and Bank Negara Indonesia was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Monday and largely stayed that way, finishing firmly in the green.

The Dow jumped 407.51 points or 1.16 percent to finish at 35,473.13, while the NASDAQ climbed 85.16 points or 0.61 percent to close at 13,994.40 and the S&P 500 gained 40.41 points or 0.90 percent to end at 4,518.44.

The strength that emerged on Wall Street came as investors indulged in some bargain hunting after last week's losses.

The upside was measured, however, ahead of crucial reports on consumer and producer price inflation later in the week, which could affect the Federal Reserve's plan for interest rates.

Most economists expect another pause in interest rate hikes by the Fed next month, although the data has led to some uncertainty about the outlook for rates beyond that.

Oil futures settled lower on Monday, coming off the four-month highs they touched last week. The dollar's strength ahead of inflation data weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September shed $0.88 or 1.1 percent at $81.94 a barrel.