Rally May Stall For Indonesia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has tracked higher in back-to-back sessions, gathering almost 50 points or 0.8 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just shy of the 6,450-point plateau although it may spin its wheels on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative on continuing concerns over the possibility of a trade war. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The JCI finished slightly higher on Monday following gains from the resource stocks, weakness from the cement companies and a mixed picture from the financial sector.

For the day, the index added 7.70 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 6,445.97 after trading between 6,406.80 and 6,472.54.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga collected 0.28 percent, while Bank Mandiri rose 0.22 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia gathered 0.43 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia retreated 1.24 percent, Bank Central Asia stumbled 2.35 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia shed 0.55 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison tanked 3.17 percent, Indocement surrendered 2.82 percent, Semen Indonesia plunged 3.27 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur added 0.68 percent, United Tractors spiked 3.04 percent, Astra International improved 0.84 percent, Energi Mega Persada rallied 3.43 percent, Astra Agro Lestari retreated 1.32 percent, Aneka Tambang skyrocketed 7.46 percent, Timah jumped 1.98 percent, Bumi Resources surged 3.09 percent and Vale Indonesia was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is brutal as the major averages opened sharply lower on Monday and remained deep in the red throughout the session.

The Dow plummeted 971.82 points or 2.48 percent to finish at 38,170.41, while the NASDAQ tumbled 415.55 points or 2.55 percent to close at 16,870.37 and the S&P 500 dropped 124.50 points or 2.36 percent to end at 5,158.20.

The sell-off on Wall Street came amid lingering concerns about a global trade war as traders await signs of progress from President Donald Trump's trade talks.

Potentially adding to the worries, China has threatened to retaliate against any countries that reach a trade deal with the U.S. at the expense of China's interests.

Trump's continued attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell added to the negative sentiment; he called on the Fed to lower rates last week, declaring, "Powell's termination cannot come fast enough!"

Crude oil prices pulled back sharply Monday on reports of progress in negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, while trade war concerns also weighed. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery plunged $1.60 or 2.5 percent to $63.08 a barrel.