Indonesia Stock Market: Resistance Expected At 7,200 Points

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, advancing more than 55 points or 0.8 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 7,190-point plateau although it may run out of steam on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is uncertain ahead of the FOMC's rate decision and statement later today. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The JCI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares and a mixed performance from the resource companies.

For the day, the index added 35.04 points or 0.49 percent to finish at 7,192.22 after trading between 7,133.61 and 7,213.19.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga jumped 2.04 percent, while Bank Mandiri accelerated 2.70 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia collected 1.07 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia strengthened 1.35 percent, Bank Central Asia climbed 1.05 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia gained 0.90 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison tumbled 1.82 percent, Semen Indonesia shed 0.40 percent, Indofood Suskes fell 0.39 percent, United Tractors tanked 2.04 percent, Astra International soared 3.45 percent, Energi Mega Persada advanced 0.98 percent, Astra Agro Lestari skidded 1.08 percent, Vale Indonesia improved 0.78 percent, Timah dropped 0.86 percent, Bumi Resources rallied 2.33 percent and Aneka Tambang, Indocement and Kalbe Farma were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little guidance as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday; the Dow turned higher and finished in the green, while the NASDAQ remained under water throughout the session and the S&P bounced back and forth across the line before ending slightly in the red.

The Dow climbed 133.86 points or 0.35 percent to finish at 38,467.31, while the NASDAQ dropped 118.15 points or 0.76 percent to close at 15,509.90 and the S&P 500 dipped 2.96 points or 0.06 percent to end at 4,924.97.

The pullback by the NASDAQ came as traders cashed in on the recent strength in the tech sector ahead of the release of quarterly results from the likes of Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL), software giant Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN) and Meta Platforms (META).

Uncertainty ahead of today's Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement may also have inspired traders to book profits. The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, but the accompanying statement could have a significant impact on the outlook for rates.

In economic news, the Labor Department noted an unexpected increase in job openings in December. Also, the Conference Board reported a continued improvement in U.S. consumer confidence in January.

Crude oil prices moved sharply on Tuesday, largely offsetting the steep drop in the previous session after the International Monetary Fund raised its global growth forecast for 2024. West Texas Intermediate for March delivery jumped $1.04 or 1.4 percent to $77.82 a barrel.