Win Streak May Continue For Indonesia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has climbed higher in two straight sessions, collecting almost 120 points or 1.7 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just beneath the 7,100-point plateau and it may open higher again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with technology stocks expected to lead the way higher. The European markets were flat and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The JCI finished sharply higher on Monday following gains from the financial shares, cement companies and resource stocks.

For the day, the index jumped 112.57 points or 1.61 percent to finish at 7,096.44.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga strengthened 1.49 percent, while Bank Mandiri spiked 2.64 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia collected 0.40 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia accelerated 2.82 percent, Bank Central Asia improved 1.30 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia rallied 3.69 percent, Bank Maybank Indonesia advanced 0.96 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison soared 4.64 percent, Indocement climbed 1.35 percent, Semen Indonesia increased 2.76 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur added 1.31 percent, United Tractors dropped 0.88 percent, Astra International gained 1.64 percent, Energi Mega Persada tumbled 1.77 percent, Aneka Tambang rose 2.46 percent, Jasa Marga surged 6.36 percent, Vale Indonesia sank 0.85 percent, Timah slumped 1.47 percent, Bumi Resources gathered 0.87 percent and Astra Agro Lestari was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street positive as the major averages opened flat on Monday but all eventually tracked higher and ended in the green.

The Dow added 66.69 points or 0.16 percent to finish at 42,906.95, while the NASDAQ spiked 192.29 points or 0.98 percent to close at 19,764.88 and the S&P 600 gained 43.22 points or 0.73 percent to end at 5,974.07.

The advance by the tech-heavy NASDAQ came amid a rally by semiconductor stocks, while significant strength was also visible among computer hardware stocks.

Overall trading activity was subdued, however, as traders seemed reluctant to make more significant moves amid what is likely to be a quiet week due to the Christmas Day holiday on Wednesday.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods slumped more than expected in November. Also, the Conference Board noted an unexpected deterioration by consumer confidence in December.

Oil futures settled lower Monday amid concerns about possible excess supply in the market, while a stronger dollar also weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February dipped $0.26 or 0.3 percent at $69.20 a barrel.