The Indonesian stock market broke its two-day trend of losses on Monday, having previously fallen by almost 50 points, or 0.7 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index is now just under the 7,100-point plateau though forecasts suggest it may dip again on Tuesday.
Forecasts for Asian markets indicate they will remain relatively stable as investors await crucial inflation data due later this week. In contrast, European markets have experienced losses, while US markets showed a mixed performance, maintaining a steady pace.
The Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) closed slightly higher on Monday, with the gains in the financial sector counterbalancing losses in the resource stocks. For the day, the index increased by 10.47 points or 0.15 percent, closing at 7,099.26 after fluctuating between 7,052.23 and 7,111.60.
Bank CIMB Niaga's shares rose by 2.51 percent, while Bank Mandiri's fell by 1.20 percent. Bank Negara Indonesia and Bank Central Asia saw their stocks augment by 2.46 percent and 1.60 percent respectively. However, Astra Agro Lestari and Aneka Tambang experienced decreases of 2.02 percent and 0.65 percent respectively.
Wall Street's leading indicators were mixed on Monday, opening higher but fading as the day went on. The Dow fell by 81.33 points or 0.21 percent to 39,431.51, while the NASDAQ rose 47.37 points or 0.29 percent to 16,388.24. The S&P 500 fell slightly, by 1.26 points or 0.02 percent, to close at 5,221.42.
Early trading on Wall Street was buoyed by renewed optimism about a potential interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve in the upcoming months. However, buying interest diminished throughout the session due to the inflation data expected later this week, which could significantly impact rate forecasts.
Oil prices also increased on Monday. This was due to positive outlook for demand, following OPEC’s decision to prolong supply cuts into the second half of the year. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June closed up by $0.86 at $79.12 a barrel.
In local news, Indonesia will reveal its March retail sales data later today; in February, year on year sales had increased by 6.4 percent.