Soft Start Called For Indonesia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market on Tuesday ended the two-day winning streak in which it had added almost 100 points or 1.3 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 6,915-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with support from the oil companies offsetting weakness among the technology shares. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

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

For the day, the index dipped 12.32 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 6,915.36 after trading between 6,885.14 and 6,971.24.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga collected 0.30 percent, while Bank Mandiri tanked 2.66 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia fell 0.41 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia stumbled 2.67 percent, Bank Central Asia rose 0.29 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia skidded 1.07 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison added 0.48 percent, Indocement retreated 1.41 percent. Semen Indonesia declined 1.49 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur advanced 0.92 percent. United Tractors perked 0.12 percent, Astra International slumped 1.11 percent, Energi Mega Persada jumped 1.83 percent, Astra Agro Lestari dropped 0.86 percent, Aneka Tambang gained 0.99 percent, Vale Indonesia rallied 1.45 percent, Timah sank 0.97 percent and Bumi Resources plummeted 4.20 percent.

The lead from Wall Street provides little clarity as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday and finished in the same fashion.

The Dow rallied 400.17 points or 0.91 percent to finish at 44,494.94, while the NASDAQ tumbled 166.85 points or 0.82 percent to end at 20,202.89 and the S&P 500 slipped 6.94 points or 0.11 percent to close at 6,198.01.

The mixed performance on Wall Street came following the strong performance seen in recent sessions, which saw the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 reach new record highs.

Traders also kept an eye on developments in Washington, D.C., where the Senate narrowly voted to approve President Donald Trump's massive tax cuts and spending bill.

On the U.S. economic front, the Institute for Supply Management noted a modest increase by its reading on U.S. manufacturing activity in June. Also, the Labor Department saw an unexpected increase by job openings in the U.S. in May.

Crude oil rose modestly on Tuesday as attention shifts to the OPEC cartel's supposed plans to increase output even as the Middle East remains uneventful. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery traded at $65.40 per barrel, up $0.29 or 0.45 percent.