Indonesia Bourse Likely To Remain Rangebound

The Indonesia stock market has finished higher in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day plunge in which it had tumbled almost 750 points or 9 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 8,120-point plateau and its expected to open lower again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative, with technology stocks expected to lead the markets lower. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The JCI finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the food, financial and resource companies, while the cement and telecom sectors were soft.

For the day, the index rallied 199.87 points or 2.52 percent to finish at the daily high of 8,122.60 after moving as low as 7,712.35.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga rose 0.28 percent, while Bank Mandiri collected 0.63 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia vaulted 1.20 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia accelerated 2.00 percent, Bank Central Asia added 0.66 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia sank 0.78 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison dropped 0.90 percent, Indocement fell 0.38 percent, Semen Indonesia tumbled 1.55 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur rallied 2.49 percent, United Tractors spiked 7.06 percent, Astra International soared 8.37 percent, Energi Mega Persada expanded 6.33 percent, Astra Agro Lestari climbed 2.41 percent, Aneka Tambang advanced 3.15 percent, Vale Indonesia jumped 4.64 percent, Timah surged 8.42 percent and Bumi Resources skyrocketed 20 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday but quickly turned lower and spent the rest of the day largely under water.

The Dow dropped 166.67 points or 0.34 percent to finish at 49,240.99, while the NASDAQ tumbled 336.92 points or 1.43 percent to close at 23,255.19 and the S&P 500 sank 58.63 points or 0.84 percent to end at 6,917.81.

The weakness on Wall Street was largely due to a rotation out of technology stocks, as reflected by the steep drop by the NASDAQ.

The U.S. Software Index slumped to its lowest closing level in over nine months, while substantial weakness was also visible among semiconductor stocks.

Gold stocks also saw considerable strength amid a significant rebound by the price of the precious metal. Steel, energy and housing stocks also moved notably higher on the day, helping to limit the downside for the broader markets.

Crude oil prices surged on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar index moved lower, while news of the U.S.-India trade agreement has led to anticipation of a spur in energy demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was up $1.10 or 1.77 percent at $63.24 per barrel.