No Help Yet For Indonesia Shares

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, slumping more than 90 points or 1.4 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just beneath the 6,770-point plateau and it's expected to open in the red again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation, thanks to renewed concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were firmly lower and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The JCI finished modestly lower on Tuesday as losses from the resource and cement stocks were mitigated by support from the financial sector.

For the day, the index lost 40.24 points or 0.59 percent to finish at 6,766.76.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga dipped 0.41 percent, while Bank Negara Indonesia climbed 1.14 percent, Bank Central Asia rose 0.30 percent, Bank Mandiri collected 0.49 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia advanced 1.04 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison tanked 2.46 percent, Indocement fell 0.44 percent, Semen Indonesia sank 0.70 percent, United Tractors plunged 2.98 percent, Astra International tumbled 2.06 percent, Astra Agro Lestari declined 1.81 percent, Aneka Tambang skidded 1.02 percent, Vale Indonesia plummeted 3.32 percent, Timah lost 0.42 percent, Bumi Resources surrendered 3.12 percent and Bank Danamon Indonesia, Indofood Suskes and Energi Mega Persada were unchanged,.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened flat on Tuesday but quickly turned lower, finishing near daily lows.

The Dow plunged 574.98 points or 1.72 percent to finish at 32,856.46, while the NASDAQ sank 145.41 points or 1.25 percent to end at 11,530.33 and the S&P 500 dropped 62.05 points or 1.53 percent to close at 3,986.37.

The sell-off on Wall Street reflected a negative reaction to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's highly anticipated semiannual monetary policy testimony before the Senate Banking Committee.

Citing stubbornly elevated inflation and stronger than expected economic data, Powell told lawmakers the "ultimate level of interest rates is likely to be higher than previously anticipated."

Powell also said the Fed would be prepared to reaccelerate the pace of rate hikes and for a longer period if incoming data were to indicate that faster tightening is warranted.

Crude oil prices tumbled Tuesday on renewed uncertainty about energy demand, while a surging greenback also weighed on the commodity. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April slumped $2.88 or 3.6 percent at $77.58 a barrel.