Asian Economic News
Jakarta Shares May Move Higher Again
11/2/2009 8:59 PM ET
(RTTNews) -
The Indonesian stock market inched higher by just a handful of points on Monday, but that was enough to end the four-day losing streak in which it had declined more than 120 points or 5 percent in the process. The Jakarta Composite Index finished just above the 2,370-point plateau, and now investors are anticipating further movement to the upside when the market opens for business on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is modestly positive, thanks to a recovery in the price of commodities. Financials and steel stocks also are expected to provide support. The European and U.S. markets finished firmly in positive territory, and the Asian markets are tipped to follow that lead.
The JCI finished barely higher on Monday after sharp losses at the open, bucking the regional trend of decline on some better than expected inflation data. Gains among the consumer goods producers and financials pushed the market to a positive close.
For the day, the index gathered 3.94 or 0.17 percent to finish at 2,371.64 after trading between 2,294.56 and 2,373.20. Volume was 4.6 billion shares worth 3.8 trillion rupiah.
Among the actives, Unilever Indonesia jumped 5.94 percent and Gudang Garam soared 8 percent, while Telekomunikasi Indonesia lost 1.79 percent, Astra International eased 0.8 percent and Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam shed 2.3 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is fairly optimistic as stocks were able to eke out solid gains on Monday after reaction to a number of economic reports and some Fed comments on the financial sector prompted some volatility. The major averages all finished in positive territory, recovering some of last week's losses.
While the markets saw early strength, stocks gave back some ground after Jon Greenlee, associate director of the Federal Reserve's division of banking supervision and regulation, revealed concerns over the state of the financial system. Greenlee said the U.S. banking system is "far from robust," sparking a pullback in the financial sector.
Separately, the Federal Reserve Governor Daniel Tarullo remarked that even though the economy has begun to show signs of life, the outlook on the magnitude of the recovery should be cautiously optimistic.
The day's initial buying interest came after the Institute for Supply Management released its report on manufacturing activity in the month of October, showing that activity expanded for the third consecutive month amid a jump in production and employment.
1
2
Next Page
|
|