Lower Open Called For Indonesia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has tracked higher in back-to-back sessions, gathering almost 120 points or 1.6 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just above the 7,600-point plateau although it may see profit taking on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with profit taking expected following recent optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The JCI finished modestly higher on Monday as gains from the financial shares and resource stocks were capped by weakness from the cement sector.

For the day, the index climbed 61.89 points or 0.8 percent to finish at 7,606.19.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga collected 0.79 percent, while Bank Danamon Indonesia rallied 2.31 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia climbed 1.38 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia spiked 2.91 percent, Bank Maybank Indonesia plunged 4.80 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison strengthened 1.42 percent, Indocement retreated 1.40 percent, Semen Indonesia sank 0.74 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur accelerated 2.24 percent, United Tractors perked 0.09 percent, Astra International advanced 0.98 percent, Energi Mega Persada improved 0.95 percent, Aneka Tambang jumped 2.07 percent, Jasa Marga added 0.46 percent, Vale Indonesia rose 0.26 percent, Timah soared 2.91 percent and Bumi Resources, Bank Central Asia, Bank Mandiri and Astra Agro Lestari were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened slightly higher on Monday but quickly headed south, eventually all ending under water.

The Dow dipped 0.02 points or 0.00 percent to finish at 41,175.08, while the NASDAQ sank 152.03 points or 0.85 percent to close at 17,725.77 and the S&P 500 lost 17.77 points or 0.32 percent to end at 5,616.84.

The Dow found mild support from 3M Co. (MMM), Coca-Cola (KO) and Walt Disney (DIS). On the other hand, substantial weakness among semiconductor stocks weighed on the NASDAQ, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunging by 2.5 percent.

Within the semiconductor sector, AI darling Nvidia (NVDA) slumped by 2.3 percent ahead of the release of its fiscal second quarter results on Wednesday.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report showing a sharp increase by new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods in July.

The price of crude oil moved sharply higher on Monday, extending recent gains amid renewed geopolitical concerns after Hezbollah and Israeli forces exchanged attacks across the Lebanon-Israel border. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery shot up $2.36 or 3.2 percent to $77.19 a barrel.