Indonesia Stock Market Likely To Open Under Pressure

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has tracked lower in three straight sessions, surrendering almost 200 points or 2.9 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just beneath the 7,000-point plateau and it may take further damage on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative on fears of an economic slowdown and concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were sharply lower and the Asian markets are expected to follow that lead.

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

For the day, the index dropped 91.21 points or 1.29 percent to finish at 6,995.44 after trading between 6,924.95 and 6,996.71.

Among the actives, Bank Danamon Indonesia tumbled 3.60 percent, while Bank CIMB Niaga declined 1.44 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia dipped 0.60 percent, Bank Mandiri dropped 0.92 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia weakened 1.36 percent, Indosat retreated 1.89 percent, Indocement surrendered 2.66 percent, Semen Indonesia plummeted 5.07 percent, Indofood Suskes shed 0.73 percent, United Tractors plunged 4.74 percent, Astra International jumped 1.44 percent, Energi Mega Persada gave away 4.26 percent, Bakrie Sumatera Plantations fell 2.48 percent, Astra Agro Lestari stumbled 1.59 percent, Aneka Tambang skidded 1.31 percent, Vale Indonesia slumped 2.70 percent, Timah cratered 4.66 percent, Bumi Resources lost 3.45 percent and Bank Central Asia was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is brutal as the major averages opened sharply lower on Monday and only got worse as the day progressed, ending deep in the red.

The Dow plummeted 876.05 points or 2.79 percent to finish at 30,516 billion baht, while the NASDAQ plunged 530.80 points or 4.68 percent to close at 10,809.23 and the S&P 500 dropped 151.23 points or 3.88 percent to close at 3,749.63.

The extended sell-off on Wall Street reflected lingering concerns about inflation and the outlook for interest rates after last Friday's report showing a jump in consumer prices.

The Federal Reserve is scheduled to announce its latest monetary policy decision on Wednesday, with the central bank expected to continuing raising interest rates in an effort to combat inflation.

While the Fed's rate hikes have been widely anticipated for months, traders seem increasingly concerned tighter monetary policy could trigger a period of stagflation or an outright recession.

Crude oil futures rebounded from early losses and settled modestly higher on Monday as concerns about global supplies outweighed demand worries. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended higher by $0.26 or 0.2 percent at $120.93 a barrel.