Indonesia Bourse May Spin Its Wheels On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, advancing almost 130 points or 1.6 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index sits just beneath the 8,170-point plateau although it's expected to open under water on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with profit taking expected especially among the technology shares. The European markets were flat and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The JCI finished slightly higher on Tuesday as gains from the financial and food sectors were offset by weakness from the cement and resource companies.

For the day, the index gained 29.39 points or 0.36 percent to finish at 8,169.28 after trading between 8,153.71 and 8,217.05.

Among the actives, Bank Mandiri collected 0.70 percent, while Bank Danamon Indonesia rose 0.42 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia slipped 0.25 percent, Bank Central Asia climbed 1.00 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia jumped 1.37 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison surged 4.86 percent, Indocement slumped 3.69 percent, Semen Indonesia tanked 3.69 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur rallied 1.76 percent, United Tractors stumbled 3.03 percent, Astra International skidded 1.29 percent, Energi Mega Persada plummeted 6.57 percent, Astra Agro Lestari tumbled 2.31 percent, Aneka Tambang declined 1.57 percent, Vale Indonesia retreated 2.30 percent, Timah skyrocketed 19.91 percent, Bumi Resources plunged 4.00 percent and Bank CIMB Niaga was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened slightly higher on Tuesday but quickly headed south and spent the balance of the day in the red, ending near session lows.

The Dow slumped 91.99 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 46,602.98, while the NASDAQ dropped 153.30 points or 0.67 percent to end at 22,788.36 and the S&P 500 sank 25.69 points or 0.38 percent to close at 6,714.59.

The pullback on Wall Street reflected profit taking following recent strength in the markets, which saw the S&P 500 close higher for seven straight sessions.

A slump by shares of Oracle (ORCL) also weighed on the markets following reports that raised questions about the profitability of its artificial intelligence rollout.

Lingering concerns about the economic impact of the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, which has led to the indefinite delay of U.S. economic data, including the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report.

Crude oil prices crept slightly higher on Tuesday, despite forecasts of weakening oil demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery was up $0.02 or 0.03 percent at $61.71 per barrel.