Indonesia Bourse May Challenge 8,000-Point Level

(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, advancing more than 300 points or 4 percent in that span. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just beneath the 7,940-point plateau and it may extend its gains again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on an improving outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

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

For the day, the index climbed 83.06 points or 1.06 percent to finish at the daily high of 7,937.12 after trading as low as 7,889.19.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga collected 0.87 percent, while Bank Mandiri rose 0.22 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia added 0.40 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia stumbled 2.43 percent, Bank Central Asia climbed 1.26 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia slumped 0.96 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison gained 0.79 percent, Indocement sank 0.70 percent, Semen Indonesia improved 0.70 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur strengthened 1.32 percent, United Tractors shed 0.66 percent, Astra International dropped 0.88 percent, Energi Mega Persada soared 5.74 percent, Astra Agro Lestari rallied 2.04 percent, Vale Indonesia surged 6.18 percent, Bumi Resources rallied 3.64 percent and Timah and Aneka Tambang were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Monday and largely remained in the green throughout the trading day.

The Dow rose 49.23 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 45,883.45, while the NASDAQ jumped 207.65 points or 0.94 percent to end at a record 22,348.75 and the S&P 500 gained 30.99 points or 0.47 percent to close at 6,615.28, also a record.

The strength on Wall Street came following positive comments from President Donald Trump about trade talks between top U.S. and Chinese officials in Europe.

Traders also continued to look ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday. With recent data showing relatively subdued inflation and a weakening labor market, the Fed is widely expected to lower interest rates by at least a quarter-point.

Traders are likely to pay close attention to the Fed's accompanying statement as well as Fed Chair Jerome Powell's post-meeting comments for clues about the likelihood of further rate cuts.

Crude oil moved sharply higher on Monday amid brewing Middle East tensions and the heightening Russia-Ukraine war even as softening demand concerns surface. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $0.58 or 0.93 percent at $63.27 per barrel.