The Indonesia stock market has moved higher now in back-to-back sessions, surging almost 95 points or 2.2 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index finished just above the 4,400-point plateau, and now investors may be tempted to lock in gains when the market opens on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed and flat, thanks to contradictory economic data from the United States and ongoing worries about continued gridlock in Washington regarding the debt ceiling. The European and U.S. markets were mixed but little changed, and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The JCI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the resource stocks and a mixed performance from the financial shares.
For the day, the index collected 18.33 points or 0.42 percent to finish at 4,400.82 after trading between 4,373.35 and 4,400.82.
Among the actives, Bank Mandiri jumped 1.19 percent, while Astra Agro Lestari added 0.76 percent, Aneka Tambang lost 1.39 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia dropped 1.68 percent, Bakrieland Development shed 1.72 percent, Holcim Indonesia fell 0.85 percent and Semen Gresik dipped 0.32 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is murky as stocks moved to the downside in early trading on Tuesday, but then selling pressure waned not long after the open and the markets managed a recovery over the course of the trading day.
The early weakness was partly due to worries about continued gridlock in Washington regarding the debt ceiling. While President Barack Obama has indicated that he will not debate raising the debt limit, Republicans have called for any increase in the debt ceiling to be tied to additional spending cuts.
Nonetheless, an upbeat U.S. retail sales report helped to limit the downside for the markets and contributed to the turnaround. Retail sales rose 0.5 percent in December following a revised 0.4 percent increase in November. Economists had expected sales to edge up by 0.2 percent.
Excluding a 1.6 percent increase in sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales increased 0.3 percent in December compared to a 0.1 percent drop in November – in line with forecasts.
Also, the Labor Department reported a slightly bigger than expected drop in producer prices in December, while the New York Federal Reserve said its index of regional manufacturing activity remained negative for the sixth consecutive month in January.
The major averages were mixed but little changed on Tuesday as the NASDAQ was down 6.72 points or 0.2 percent to finish at 3,110.78, while the Dow rose 27.57 points or 0.2 percent to end at 13,534.89 and the S&P 500 edged up 1.66 points or 0.1 percent to close at 1,472.34.
by RTT Staff Writer
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