Indonesia Shares May Bounce Higher Again On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market on Tuesday ended the two-day winning streak in which it had rallied almost 175 points or 2.5 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just beneath the 7,250-point plateau although it's expected to open to the upside again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The JCI finished modestly lower on Tuesday following losses from the financials and telecoms, while the cement and resource stocks were mixed.

For the day, the index dropped 68.22 points or 0.93 percent to finish at the daily low of 7,245.89 after peaking at 7,341.60.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga skidded 1.12 percent, while Bank Mandiri tanked 2.66 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia sank 0.78 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia slumped 0.80 percent, Bank Central Asia tumbled 1.72 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia retreated 1.57 percent, Bank Maybank Indonesia dropped 0.90 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison surrendered 2.40 percent, Indocement improved 0.73 percent, Semen Indonesia declined 1.37 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur added 0.66 percent, United Tractors fell 0.36 percent, Astra International lost 0.48 percent, Energi Mega Persada stumbled 1.53 percent, Astra Agro Lestari climbed 1.21 percent, Aneka Tambang plunged 2.36 percent, Jasa Marga rallied 2.17 percent, Vale Indonesia slid 0.54 percent, Timah plummeted 4.12 percent and Bumi Resources was down 3.42 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday but trended higher throughout the day and all finished in the green.

The Dow climbed 123.74 points or 0.28 percent to finish at a record 44,860.31, while the NASDAQ jumped 119.46 points or 0.63 percent to close at 19,174.30 and the S&P 500 improved 34.28 points or 0.57 percent to end at 6,021.63, also a record.

The higher close by the major averages came as the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting revealed officials believe it will be appropriate to "gradually" lower interest rates.

The minutes said officials feel a gradual approach to lowering rates to a more neutral stance will be appropriate if economic data come in "about as expected, with inflation continuing to move down sustainably to 2 percent and the economy remaining near maximum employment."

Oil prices drifted lower on Tuesday following reports Israel and Hezbollah are closer to reaching a cease-fire agreement within the next few days. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January closed down $0.17 at $68.77 a barrel.