Indonesia Stock Market May Stop The Bleeding On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has finished lower in back-to-back sessions, surrendering more than 130 points or 1.8 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 6,950-point plateau although it's tipped to open to the upside on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky on conflicting signals about the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The JCI finished modestly lower on Tuesday as losses from the financials and cement stocks were offset by support from the resource companies.

For the day, the index shed 60.21 points or 0.86 percent to finish at the daily low of 6,956.67 after peaking at 7,042.33.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga fell 0.29 percent, while Bank Mandiri tanked 2.26 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia sank 0.79 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia tumbled 1.90 percent, Bank Central Asia retreated 1.55 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia declined 1.30 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison weakened 1.26 percent, Indocement skidded 1.23 percent, Semen Indonesia plunged 4.79 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur surrendered 2.59 percent, United Tractors rose 0.39 percent, Energi Mega Persada improved 0.81 percent, Astra Agro Lestari stumbled 1.66 percent, Aneka Tambang rallied 2.70 percent, Vale Indonesia surged 7.29 percent, Timah soared 4.67 percent, Bumi Resources spiked 5.98 percent and Astra International was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little guidance as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday but quickly faded and then hugged the line before ending mixed.

The Dow advanced 221.16 points or 0.52 percent to finish at 42,518.28, while the NASDAQ slumped 43.71 points or 0.23 percent to close at 19.044.39 and the S&P 500 rose 6.69 points or 0.11 percent to end at 5,842.91.

The initial strength on Wall Street came following the release of a Labor Department report showing producer prices rose by slightly less than expected in the month of December.

The smaller than expected monthly increase by producer prices helped ease recent concerns about the outlook for inflation and interest rates, although the faster annual growth kept buying interest somewhat subdued.

Traders may also have been reluctant to make more significant moves ahead of the release of a more closely watched report on consumer price inflation later today.

Oil prices came off five-month highs on Tuesday as investors shifted their focus on the possible impact of Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on imports. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February closed lower by $1.32 or about 1.67 percent at $77.50 a barrel.

Closer to home, Indonesia will provide December figures for imports, esports and trade balance later today. Imports are expected to rise 4.0 percent on year, up from 0.01 percent in November. Exports are seen higher by an annual 8.5 percent, easing from 9.14 percent in the previous month. The trade surplus is seen at $4.33 billion, down from $4.42 billion a month earlier.

Also, the central bank in Indonesia will wrap up its monetary policy meeting today and then announce its decision on interest rates. Its benchmark lending rate (6.00 percent), deposit facility rate (5.25 percent) and lending facility rate (6.75 percent) all are seen unchanged.