(RTTNews) - The Indonesia stock market has finished higher in back-to-back trading days, advancing more than 65 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just beneath the 5,340-point plateau and it may see continued support on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to higher, nudged into the green by gains in crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian bourses are likely to follow suit.
The JCI finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares, cement companies and resource stocks.
For the day, the index climbed 61.85 points or 1.17 percent to finish at 5,338.89 after trading between 5,276.96 and 5,341.17.
Among the actives, Bank Mandiri surged 4.17 percent, while Bank CIMB Niaga jumped 1.88 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia rallied 3.43 percent, Indosat added 0.41 percent, Indocement soared 4.64 percent, Semen Indonesia skyrocketed 6.19 percent, Indofood Suskes spiked 4.67 percent, Astra Agro Lestari rose 0.25 percent, Aneka Tambang climbed 1.28 percent, Vale Indonesia advanced 2.44 percent, Timah gained 3.33 percent and Bank Danamon Indonesia and Bumi Resources were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as stocks moved higher on Tuesday, although the Dow eventually slipped into the red while the NASDAQ and S&P 500 hit fresh record closing highs.
The Dow shed 60.02 points or 0.21 percent to finish at 28,248.44, while the NASDAQ added 86.75 points or 0.76 percent to end at 11,466.47 and the S&P 500 rose 12.34 points or 0.36 percent to close at 3,443.62.
The drop by the Dow came as Exxon Mobil (XOM), Raytheon (RTX) and Pfizer (PFE) tumbled on the news they're being removed from the blue chip index. Those three stocks will be replaced by Salesforce.com (CRM), Honeywell (HON), and Amgen (AMGN), which rallied.
Traders were also looking ahead to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole symposium on Thursday. Analysts suggest Powell will signal an increased tolerance for higher inflation, with some predicting he will call for a shift to average inflation targeting rather than the long-standing 2 percent target.
In economic news, the Commerce Department reported a bigger than expected spike in new home sales last month - while a separate report from the Conference Board showed its consumer confidence index slumped again in August.
Oil prices moved higher on Tuesday, fueled by storm-driven production cuts on the U.S. Gulf Coast as traders look ahead to weekly inventory data. West Texas Intermediate crude futures jumped 73 cents or 1.7 to $43.35 a barrel.
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