Indonesia Bourse May Extend Tuesday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market returned from its long break for Eid-ul-Fitr by snapping the two-day winning streak in which it had jumped more than 120 points or 1.7 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just beneath the 7,165-point plateau and it may take further damage on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests little movement, with bargain hunting pitted against interest rate concerns. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The JCI finished sharply lower on Tuesday following losses from the finance, food and automobile sectors, although the resource companies had a strong showing.

For the day, the index retreated 122.07 points or 1.68 percent to finish at 7,164.81 after trading between 7,066.57 and 7,188.09.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga tumbled 3.81 percent, while Bank Mandiri retreated 2.93 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia dropped 1.79 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia slumped 1.89 percent, Bank Central Asia plunged 3.56 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia tanked 5,31 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison stumbled 3.11 percent, Indocement jumped 1.74 percent, Semen Indonesia sank 1.33 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur plummeted 5.38 percent, United Tractors rallied 3.96 percent, Astra International surrendered 3.32 percent, Energi Mega Persada soared 7.34 percent, Astra Agro Lestari skidded 2.51 percent, Aneka Tambang surged 8.38 percent, Vale Indonesia spiked 7.32 percent, Timah skyrocketed 10.00 percent and Bumi Resources climbed 1.18 percent.

The lead from Wall Street offers little guidance as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday and, after some volatility, ended on opposite sides of the line and little changed.

The Dow added 63.86 points or 0.17 percent to finish at 37,798.97, while the NASDAQ shed 19.77 points or 0.12 percent to close at 15,865.25 and the S&P 500 sank 10.41 points or 0.21 percent to end at 5,051.41.

The lack of direction shown by the markets came as traders weighed the idea of picking up stocks at relatively reduced levels against concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

The yield on the benchmark ten-year note reached its highest intraday levels in almost six months after the Federal Reserve released a report showing a continued increase in U.S. industrial production in the month of March.

Adding to the rate worries, Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicated in remarks that rates are likely to remain higher for longer amid a "lack of progress" toward reaching the central bank's inflation goal.

Crude oil showed a lack of direction on Tuesday before easing slightly as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen indicated the U.S. plans to impose new sanctions on Iran in response to the country's attack on Israel. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery dipped $0.05 or 0.1 percent to $85.36 a barrel.

Closer to home, Indonesia will provide February figures for retail sales later today; in January, sales were up 1.1 percent on year.