Lower Open Expected For Indonesia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, slipping more than a dozen points or 0.2 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just beneath the 6,845-point plateau and it's looking at continued selling pressure on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative, with profit taking expected amid concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.

The JCI finished slightly lower on Tuesday following weakness from the financial shares and mixed performances from the cement and resource stocks.

For the day, the index dipped 11.54 points or 0.17 percent to finish at 6,843.24.

Among the actives, Bank Danamon Indonesia weakened 1.04 percent, while Bank Negara Indonesia plunged 1.96 percent, Bank Central Asia slid 0.28 percent, Bank Mandiri retreated 1.48 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia plummeted 2.91 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison jumped 1.87 percent, Indocement advanced 0.91 percent, Semen Indonesia tanked 2.03 percent, Indofood Suskes tumbled 1.89 percent, United Tractors skyrocketed 10.82 percent, Astra International surged 5.17 percent, Energi Mega Persada sank 0.73 percent, Astra Agro Lestari dropped 0.90 percent, Aneka Tambang skidded 1.00 percent, Vale Indonesia rallied 2.63 percent, Timah improved 1.28 percent, Bumi Resources strengthened 1.49 percent and Bank CIMB Niaga was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday. The Dow spent all day in the red, while the NASDAQ and S&P visited positive territory for a bit but couldn't hold the gains and ended under water.

The Dow tumbled 232.39 points or 0.71 percent to finish at 32,656.70, while the NASDAQ dipped 11.44 points or 0.10 percent to close at 11,455.54 and the S&P 500 fell 12.09 points or 0.30 percent to end at 3,970.15.

The lackluster performance on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves amid ongoing concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

In U.S. economic news, MNI Indicators released a report showing Chicago-area business activity unexpectedly contracted at a slightly faster rate in February. Also, the Conference Board said U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly decreased for the second consecutive month in February.

Following the pullback a day earlier, the price of crude oil showed a strong move back to the upside on Tuesday, thanks to optimism about increased demand from China. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery surged $1.37 or 1.8 percent to $77.05 a barrel.

Closer to home, Indonesia will see February numbers for consumer prices later today, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 0.11 percent on month and 5.44 percent on year for overall inflation. That follows the 0.34 percent monthly increase and the 5.28 percent yearly gain in January.