Indonesia Stock Market Expected To Remain Rangebound

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has moved higher in two of three trading days since the end of the five-day losing streak in which it had stumbled more than 110 points or 1.8 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just beneath the 6,620-point plateau although it may tick lower again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on nervousness over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The JCI finished barely higher on Wednesday following mixed performances from the financial shares and the resource stocks.

For the day, the index perked 0.83 points or 0.01 percent to finish at 6,619.75 after trading between 6,578.76 and 6,638.58.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga gained 0.34 percent, while Bank Mandiri shed 0.50 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia collected 0.36 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia slid 0.54 percent, Bank Central Asia lost 0.55 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia declined 0.92 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison soared 3.24 percent, Indocement sank 0.77 percent, Indofood Suskes climbed 1.02 percent, United Tractors retreated 1.51 percent, Energi Mega Persada dropped 0.91 percent, Astra Agro Lestari fell 0.35 percent, Aneka Tambang added 0.50 percent, Bumi Resources tumbled 1.79 percent and Astra International, Semen Indonesia, Vale Indonesia and Timah were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday; the Dow kept bouncing up and down but finished in the green, while the NASDAQ and S&P quickly headed south and remained in the red.

The Dow added 94.93 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 33,668.21, while the NASDAQ dropped 168.22 points or 1.27 percent to end at 13,108.19 and the S&P 500 sank 15.82 points or 0.37 percent to close at 4,268.03.

The sharp pullback by the NASDAQ came after the Bank of Canada once again raised interest rates after leaving rates unchanged for two straight meetings, raising the concerns about the outlook for U.S. rates.

The Federal Reserve is scheduled to announce its latest monetary policy decision next Wednesday, with the central bank widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged.

In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department said the U.S. trade deficit widened significantly in April as the value of exports plummeted.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday as Saudi Arabia's recent decision to cut crude output outweighed concerns about demand, while data showing a drop in U.S. crude inventories last week also supported prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended higher by $0.79 or 1.1 percent at $72.53 a barrel.