Mild Upside Anticipated For Indonesia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market on Tuesday ended the four-day losing streak in which it had slumped almost 70 points or 1 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 7,285-point plateau and it may tick higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky and flat ahead of key economic data later this week. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets figure to open in similar fashion.

The JCI finished barely higher on Tuesday following gains from the financials, weakness from the cement companies and a mixed picture from the resource stocks.

For the day, the index perked 1.49 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 7,285.32 after trading between 7,255.12 and 7,292.93.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga soared 3.41 percent, while Bank Mandiri rose 0.35 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia jumped 1.69 percent, Bank Central Asia collected 0.77 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia sank 0.81 percent, Indocement shed 0.55 percent, Semen Indonesia fell 0.41 percent, Indofood Suskes lost 0.75 percent, United Tractors surged 3.70 percent, Astra International advanced 0.98 percent, Energi Mega Persada tumbled 1.94 percent, Astra Agro Lestari dropped 0.74 percent, Aneka Tambang surrendered 2.31 percent, Vale Indonesia skyrocketed 3.92 percent, Timah slumped 0.87 percent, Bumi Resources declined 1.11 percent and Bank Danamon Indonesia and Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is uninspired as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday and ended little changed and on opposite sides of the line.

The Dow slumped 96.82 points or 0.25 percent to finish at 38,972.41, while the NASDAQ added 59.05 points or 0.37 percent to close at 16,035.30 and the S&P 500 rose 8.65 points or 0.17 percent to end at 5,078.18.

Traders stuck to the sidelines ahead of the release of some key economic data later this week, including a closely watched inflation reading.

The inflation data could have a notable impact on the outlook for interest rates, as Fed officials have said they need greater confidence inflation is slowing before cutting rates.

In economic news, the Commerce Department noted a substantial decrease in new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods in January. Also, the Conference Board released a report showing an unexpected deterioration in U.S. consumer confidence in February.

Oil prices moved higher Tuesday on supply concerns due to the disruptions in the Red Sea route and amid uncertainty about a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended higher by $1.29 or 1.66 percent at $78.87 a barrel.