Indonesia Shares Tipped To Return To The Downside

(RTTNews) - Ahead of the lone break for Eid-ul-Fitr, the Indonesia stock market had moved higher in two pf three trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had fallen more than 25 points or 0.4 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just above the 6,820-point plateau although it's likely to open in the red on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower on renewed concerns over the health of the financial systems. The European markets were mixed and little changed and the U.S. bourses were sharply lower and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The JCI finished modestly higher on April 18 following gains from the financials and mixed performances from the cement and resource stocks.

For the day, the index gained 34.23 points or 0.50 percent to finish at 6,821.81.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga rallied 1.92 percent, while Bank Mandiri advanced 0.98 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia jumped 1.82 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia collected 0.26 percent, Bank Central Asia climbed 1.11 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia sank 0.80 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison improved 0.75 percent, Indocement rose 0.24 percent, Semen Indonesia shed 0.41 percent, Indofood Suskes gained 0.40 percent, United Tractors accelerated 1.89 percent, Astra International spiked 3.21 percent, Energi Mega Persada plummeted 4.17 percent, Astra Agro Lestari added 0.32 percent, Aneka Tambang dropped 0.94 percent, Vale Indonesia soared 2.33 percent, Timah surged 3.50 percent and Bumi Resources strengthened 1.67 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened slightly lower on Tuesday but accelerated deeper into the red as the day progressed, ending near session lows.

The Dow plunged 344.57 points or 1.02 percent to finish at 33,530.83, while the NASDAQ tumbled 238.05 points or 1.98 percent to close at 11,799.16 and the S&P 500 sank 65.4 points or 1.58 percent to end at 4,071.63.

The sell-off on Wall Street reflected a negative reaction to quarterly results from First Republic (FRC), with the regional bank plunging by 49.4 percent. The steep drop came after the company reported a loss of more than $100 billion in deposits in the first quarter, renewing concerns about turmoil in the banking sector.

Results for UPS Inc. (UPS) also disappointed, while General Motors (GM), PepsiCo (PEP), McDonald's (MCD) and 3M (MMM) reported better than expected quarterly earnings.

In economic news, the Conference Board reported that consumer confidence deteriorated more than expected in April. Also, the Commerce Department said new home sales unexpectedly spiked to their highest level in a year in March.

Oil prices fell sharply on Tuesday amid concerns over the outlook for energy demand due to fears of a global economic slowdown, while the dollar's rise weighed as well. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended lower by $1.69 or 2.2 percent to $77.07 per barrel.