Lower Open Projected For Indonesia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has moved higher in consecutive trading days, advancing more than 55 points or 0.8 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 6,915-point plateau although it's looking at a soft start on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on concerns over the outlook for the economy and for interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. markets were mostly lower and the Asian bourses figure to follow the latter lead.

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 gained 50.42 points or 0.73 percent to finish at 6,916.45.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga dropped 0.88 percent, while Bank Mandiri spiked 2.15 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia skidded 1.01 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia slid 0.27 percent, Bank Central Asia strengthened 1.36 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia collected 1.36 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison rallied 2.07 percent, Indocement rose 0.23 percent, Semen Indonesia improved 0.75 percent, United Tractors jumped 1.94 percent, Astra International climbed 1.16 percent, Energi Mega Persada gained 0.83 percent, Aneka Tambang fell 0.26 percent, Vale Indonesia added 0.41 percent, Bumi Resources tanked 2.05 percent and Astra Agro Lestari, Indofood Suskes and Timah were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is uninspired as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday and quickly turned lower, although the NASDAQ managed to finish in the green.

The Dow dropped 174.86 points or 0.51 percent to finish at 34,288.83, while the NASDAQ rose 8.28 points or 0.06 percent to close at 13,505.87 and the S&P 500 slipped 12.22 points or 0.28 percent to end at 4,387.55.

The lackluster performance on Wall Street came as traders continued to look ahead to the economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, later this week.

Early volatility in the bond market may also have contributed to the choppy trading, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note showing wild swings back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing modestly lower.

In economic news, the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales in the U.S. slumped much more than expected in July.

Crude oil futures eased on Tuesday, extending losses from the previous session amid concerns about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September slipped $0.37 or 0.5 percent at $80.35 a barrel.