Indonesia Stock Market Poised To Halt Its Slide

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, sinking more than 150 points or 2.2 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just above the 7,040-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over the outlook for tariffs and the economy. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.

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

For the day, the index slipped 20.25 points or 0.29 percent to finish at 7,044.82 after trading between 6,994.16 and 7,090.35.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga slumped 0.86 percent, while Bank Mandiri lost 0.49 percent, Bank Central Asia shed 0.55 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison added 0.48 percent, Indocement cratered 5.80 percent, Semen Indonesia accelerated 2.54 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur rallied 1.95 percent, United Tractors tanked 2.28 percent, Astra International retreated 1.67 percent, Energi Mega Persada dropped 0.93 percent, Astra Agro Lestari sank 0.83 percent, Aneka Tambang strengthened 1.20 percent, Vale Indonesia jumped 1.70 percent, Timah spiked 1.78 percent, Bumi Resources plunged 4.07 percent and Bank Rakyat Indonesia, Bank Negara Indonesia and Bank Danamon Indonesia were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages shook off early weakness on Tuesday, climbing steadily higher to end near session highs.

The Dow rallied 214.16 points or 0.51 percent to finish at 42,519.64, while the NASDAQ jumped 156.34 points or 0.81 percent to close at 19,398.96 and the S&P 500 added 34.43 points or 0.58 percent to end at 5,970.37.

The continued strength on Wall Street came following the release of a Labor Department report showing an unexpected increase by job openings in the U.S. in the month of April.

Meanwhile, traders continued to await further developments on the trade front a month ahead of the expiration of President Donald Trump's 90-day tariff pause.

While tensions between the U.S. and China have seemingly risen in recent days, traders appear to remain generally optimistic about trade deals being reached.

The price of crude oil showed another strong move to the upside during trading on Tuesday amid ongoing concerns about supply due to escalating geopolitical tensions and stuttering U.S.-Iran nuclear talks. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery jumped $0.89 or 1.4 percent to $63.41 a barrel.