The Indonesian stock market on Monday halted the two-day winning streak in which it had collected more than 100 points or 2.8 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index finished just above the 3,825-point plateau, and now the market is expected to see a narrow trading range when it opens on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets offers little guidance - particularly since the U.S. and U.K. markets were closed on holiday, although the Canadian market provides some momentum following a positive GDP report. Commodities figure to ease slightly following last week's rebound. The European markets finished slightly lower on Monday, and the Asian bourses are likely to follow suit.
The JCI finished slightly lower on Monday following weakness from the construction and agricultural sectors.
For the day, the index shed 6.24 points or 0.16 percent to finish at 3,826.14 after trading between 3,813.66 and 3,836.87. Volume was 5.19 billion shares worth 6.97 trillion rupiah. There were 133 decliners and 82 gainers.
Among the decliners, Jaya Agra Wattie lost 1 percent in its trading debut and Bakrie Plantation shed 2.2 percent.
Wall Street was off for Memorial Day, but European stocks failed to sustain modest early gains on Monday, finishing a choppy session with a slightly loss. Volumes remained thin owing to a holiday in the U.K.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of Eurozone blue chippers was down 0.18 percent. The German DAX was down 0.04 percent, the CAC 40 index lost 0.21 percent and Switzerland's SMI shed 0.29 percent. The UK market is closed for the spring holiday.
Utilities RWE and E.ON were down notably after reports said the country would close its nuclear reactors by 2022, following the quake and the related events in Japan that led to the damage of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex. Solar power companies Vestas and Renewable Energy rallied on the news.
Fiat rose 1.3 percent after announcing that it will exercise an option to buy the United States Department of Treasury's 6 percent stake in Chrysler Group LLC in the next 10 days.
In Paris, machinery maker Alstom rose 1.3 percent. The company announced a contract worth 665 million euros with the Polish operator PKP Intercity to supply 20 high speed trains, their maintenance up to 17 years and the construction of a new maintenance depot.
Drug maker Sanofi-Aventis announced a three-year research collaboration agreement with Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative or DNDi, an independent, not-for-profit product development partnership. Sanofi added 0.11 percent.
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