More Pain Predicted For Indonesia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, slumping more than 50 points or 0.8 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 6,660-point plateau and it's looking at another soft start again for Wednesday's trade.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautious on concerns for the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.

The JCI finished modestly lower on Tuesday as losses from the resource stocks were offset by gains from the financials.

For the day, the index sank 18.58 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 6,660.46.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga advanced 0.98 percent, while Bank Danamon Indonesia strengthened 1.41 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia gained 0.55 percent, Bank Central Asia collected 0.56 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia climbed 0.91 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison spiked 2.09 percent, Indocement sank 0.76 percent, Semen Indonesia improved 0.84 percent, Indofood Suskes tanked 3.05 percent, United Tractors rose 0.22 percent, Astra International skidded 1.09 percent, Energi Mega Persada plummeted 4.55 percent, Astra Agro Lestari lost 0.66 percent, Aneka Tambang shed 0.49 percent, Vale Indonesia slid 0.38 percent and Timah, Bumi Resources and Bank Mandiri were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and stayed in the red throughout the session.

The Dow tumbled 245.25 points or 0.72 percent to finish at 34,053.87, while the NASDAQ dipped 22.28 points or 0.16 percent to end at 13,667.29 and the S&P 500 fell 20.88 points or 0.47 percent to close at 4,388.71.

The early weakness on Wall Street came as traders continued to cash in on recent strength in the markets, which lifted the NASADAQ and the S&P 500 to their best levels in over a year last week.

Selling pressure waned over the course of the session, however, as traders look ahead to congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell later today regarding the outlook for interest rates.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department said new residential construction in the U.S. unexpectedly skyrocketed in May, while building permits also jumped more than expected.

Crude oil prices fell on Tuesday amid concerns that further tightening by the Federal Reserve and other central banks may impact global economic growth and weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended down $0.74 at $71.19 a barrel.