Higher Open Predicted For Indonesia Stock Market

The Indonesia stock market has tracked higher in four straight sessions, gathering more than 90 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just beneath the 6,920-point plateau and it’s expected to open in the green again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic ahead of the FOMC rate decision later today. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure split the difference.

The JCI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the cement companies and mixed performances from the financials and resource stocks.

For the day, the index rose 18.31 points or 0.27 percent to finish at 6,917.71.

Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga fell 0.31 percent, while Bank Mandiri advanced 0.91 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia tumbled 1.83 percent, Bank Central Asia collected 0.55 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia increased 0.89 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison plunged 4.20 percent, Indocement improved 0.97 percent, Semen Indonesia gained 0.72 percent, Indofood Suskes retreated 1.37 percent, Astra International sank 0.76 percent, Energi Mega Persada rallied 2.61 percent, Astra Agro Lestari rose 0.31 percent, Vale Indonesia climbed 1.14 percent, Timah tumbled 2.12 percent, Bumi Resources plummeted 3.52 percent and Aneka Tambang, United Tractors and Bank Negara Indonesia were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened flat on Tuesday but moved generally higher as the day progressed and ended in the green.

The Dow added 26.83 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 35,438.07, while the NASDAQ climbed 85.69 points or 0.61 percent to close at 14,144.56 and the S&P 500 rose 12.82 points or 0.28 percent to end at 4,567.46.

The higher close on Wall Street reflected a positive reaction to the latest batch of earnings news from big-name companies such as 3M (MMM), chemical giant Dow Inc. (DOW) and General Electric (GE).

Traders also remain optimistic about the Federal Reserve wrapping up its recent series of interest rate hikes ahead of today’s monetary policy decision. The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates by another 25 basis points, but traders are hopeful the rate hike will be the last following recent encouraging inflation data.

In U.S. economic news, the Conference Board released a report showing U.S. consumer confidence improved more than expected in July.

Crude oil futures settled notably higher Tuesday on optimism about increased Chinese demand after policymakers pledged support to shore up growth in the world’s second largest economy. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September gained $0.89 or 1.1 percent at $79.63 a barrel, the highest settlement since mid-April.