Steady Start Seen For Indonesia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has moved higher in consecutive trading days, gathering more than35 points or 0.5 percent in that span. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 6,930-point plateau and it's likely to be rangebound again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic amidst a lack of major catalysts. The European markets were mixed and little changed and the U.S. bourses saw mild upside, and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The JCI finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the cement companies and mixed performances from the financial and resource shares.

For the day, the index gained 31.13 points or 0.45 percent to finish at 6,931.36.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga surged 4.97 percent, while Bank Mandiri collected 0.44 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia plunged 3.16 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia sank 0.88 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison spiked 2.79 percent, Indocement rose 0.24 percent, Semen Indonesia rallied 3.33 percent, United Tractors jumped 3.28 percent, Astra International soared 3.40 percent, Energi Mega Persada jumped 1.77 percent, Astra Agro Lestari retreated 1.62 percent, Aneka Tambang strengthened 1.28 percent, Vale Indonesia improved 0.73 percent, Timah shed 0.53 percent, Bumi Resources plummeted 5.19 percent and Bank Central Asia, Perusahaan Perseroan, Indofood Suskes and Bank Negara Indonesia were unchanged. The lead from Wall Street ends up slightly positive after a volatile session that saw the major averages bounce back and forth across the unchanged line throughout the day. The Dow climbed 100.57 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 35,559.86, while the NASDAQ added 29.37 points or 0.21 percent to close at 14,346.02 and the S&P 500 rose 6.76 points or 0.15 percent to end at 4,588.99.

Traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves as they await the release of key economic data in the coming days, including the closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

In U.S. economic news, MNI Indicators released a report showing Chicago-area business activity contracted at a slightly slower rate in the month of July.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Monday and the oil futures contract posted the biggest monthly gain in over a year amid signs of tight supply and optimism over increased demand in the U.S. and China. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended higher by $1.22 or 1.5 percent at $81.80 a barrel. WTI crude futures gained 16 percent in July.

Closer to home, Indonesia will release June numbers for consumer prices later today, with forecasts suggesting an annual increase of 3.11 percent for overall inflation and 2.50 percent for core CPI. In May, overall inflation rose 3.52 percent on year and core CPI added 2.58 percent.