Indonesia Stock Market Poised To Return To The Upside

(RTTNews) - Ahead of the long holiday weekend for the Hindu Saka New Year, the Indonesia stock market had moved higher in three straight sessions, advancing more than 130 points or 1.7 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 7,380-point plateau and it's expected to open in the green on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets are tipped to at least open in similar fashion.

The JCI finished slightly higher on Friday following gains from the financials, weakness from the cement stocks and a mixed performance from the resource companies.

For the day, the index rose 7.95 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 7,381.91 after trading between 7,376.16 and 7,416.43.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga strengthened 1.26 percent, while Bank Mandiri collected 0.35 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia added 0.69 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia spiked 2.09 percent, Bank Central Asia rose 0.25 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia rallied 2.01 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison perked 0.21 percent, Indocement slid 0.29 percent, Semen Indonesia shed 0.42 percent, United Tractors improved 0.72 percent, Astra International gained 0.49 percent, Energi Mega Persada tumbled 1.80 percent, Aneka Tambang sank 0.63 percent, Vale Indonesia slumped 1.97 percent, Timah skyrocketed 20.66 percent, Bumi Resources plunged 2.17 percent and Indofood Sukses Makmur and Astra Agro Lestari were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened flat on Tuesday but quickly moved solidly to the upside and finished comfortably in the green.

The Dow soared 235.83 points or 0.61 percent to finish at 39,005.49, while the NASDAQ surged 246.36 points or 1.54 percent to end at 16,265.64 and the S&P 500 rallied 57.33 points or 1.12 percent to close at 5,175.27.

The strength on Wall Street reflected a positive reaction to the Labor Department's highly anticipated report on consumer price inflation in February.

While core price growth slowed slightly less than expected, the slowdown still seems to have added to optimism about the Federal Reserve lowering interest rates in June.

The Labor Department is scheduled to release a separate report on Thursday on producer price inflation for February.

Oil futures settled lower again on Tuesday on the U.S. inflation data and persisting worries about the outlook for demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April sank $0.37 at $77.56 a barrel.