Win Streak May Continue For Indonesia Stock Market

Ahead of Monday’s holiday for the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, the Indonesia stock market had tracked higher in two straight sessions, advancing more than 60 points or 0.8 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just above the 7,810-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests little movement ahead of the Federal Reserve’s Monetary Policy decision later this week. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.

The JCI finished slightly higher on Friday following mixed performances from the financial shares, resource stocks and cement companies.

For the day, the index rose 13.98 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 7,812.13 after trading between 7,775.64 and 7,828.97.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga sank 0.77 percent, while Bank Mandiri fell 0.34 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia slid 0.38 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia collected 0.45 percent, Bank Central Asia shed 0.48 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia rallied 2.42 percent, Bank Maybank Indonesia dropped 0.85 percent, Indocement improved 0.74 percent, Semen Indonesia eased 0.25 percent, Indofood Sukses Makmur lost 0.70 percent, Astra International climbed 1.00 percent, Astra Agro Lestari retreated 1.55 percent, Aneka Tambang slumped 0.74 percent, Jasa Marga added 0.61 percent, Vale Indonesia declined 0.54 percent, Timah was down 0.50 percent, Bumi Resources soared 2.06 percent and Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, United Tractors, Energi Mega Persada and Perusahaan Gas Negara were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened mixed on Monday, largely hugged the line throughout the session and ended little changed.

The Dow advanced 228.30 points or 0.55 percent to finish at a record 41,622.08, while the NASDAQ slumped 91.85 points or 0.52 percent to close at 17,592.13 and the S&P 500 rose 7.07 points or 0.13 percent to end at 5,633.09.

The lackluster performance on Wall Street came as investors looked ahead to Wednesday’s Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement and stayed largely cautious and selective.

The Fed is widely expected to lower interest rates, but there remains some debate about the size of the rate cut. CME Group’s FedWatch Tool is currently indicating a 65.0 percent chance of a half-point rate cut and a 35.0 percent chance of a quarter-point rate cut.

On the economic front, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released a report showing regional manufacturing grew for the first time in nearly a year in the month of September.

Oil prices climbed higher on Monday as concerns about tight supply outweighed demand outlook, while a weak dollar also contributed to the rise in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for October ended higher by $1.44 at $70.09 a barrel.

Closer to home, Indonesia will provide August numbers for imports, exports and trade balance later today. Imports are expected to rise 8.15 percent on year, down from 11.07 percent in July. Exports are called higher by an annual 3.83 percent, down from 6.46 percent in the previous month. The trade surplus in July was $0.47 billion.