Soft Start Seen For Indonesia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, gathering more than 60 points or 0.9 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just above the 6,940-point plateau although it may run out of steam on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky, with little movement expected as support from technology stocks will likely be offset by weakness from oil companies. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.

The JCI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the cement companies and mixed performances from the financials and resource stocks.

For the day, the index collected 41.71 points or 0.60 percent to finish at 6,941.85.

Among the actives, Bank Danamon Indonesia shed 0.69 percent, while Bank CIMB Niaga fell 0.41 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia slumped 0.53 percent, Bank Central Asia collected 0.85 percent, Bank Mandiri rose 0.24 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia improved 1.46 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison rallied 2.02 percent, Indocement spiked 2.63 percent, Semen Indonesia added 0.66 percent, Indofood Suskes perked 0.37 percent, United Tractors gained 0.51 percent, Energi Mega Persada skyrocketed 8.63 percent, Astra Agro Lestari lost 0.61 percent, Aneka Tambang retreated 1.34 percent, Bumi Resources surged 6.57 percent and Astra International, Vale Indonesia and Timah were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street provides little clarity as the major averages went on a volatile ride Tuesday that saw them finish on opposite sides of the unchanged line.

The Dow slumped 162.12 points or 0.47 percent to finish at 34,083, while the NASDAQ advanced 70.99 points or 0.60 percent to close at 11,962.78 and the S&P 500 dipped 0.96 points or 0.02 percent to end at 4,136.33.

The volatility on Wall Street followed the release of closely watched U.S. inflation data, which could have a significant effect on the Federal Reserve's strategy regarding interest rate hikes.

The Labor Department's report showed that U.S. consumer prices increased in line with estimates in January, probably dashing hopes that the Federal Reserve might further ease the pace of its interest rate hikes.

Crude oil prices slumped on Tuesday afternoon, dropping after the release of the U.S. inflation data before coming up off daily lows. West Texas Intermediate was down $1.01 or 1.26 percent to $79.13 per barrel, coming off a low of $77.46 earlier in the day.