The Indonesia stock market has finished lower in two straight sessions, retreating nearly 50 points or 0.8 percent along the way. The Jakarta Composite Index now rests just above the 6,075 point plateau although it's expected to open in the green on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, fueled by a rebound in crude oil prices. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and little changed - and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The JCI finished modestly lower on Tuesday following losses from the cement stocks and mixed performances from the financials and resource stocks.
For the day, the index lost 34.77 points or 0.57 percent to finish at 6,076.59 after trading between 6,069.16 and 6,106.98.
Among the actives, Indocement plunged 5.18 percent, while Semen Indonesia tumbled 2.93 percent, United Tractors skidded 2.27 percent, Indofood added 0.77 percent, Unilever Indonesia shed 0.63 percent, Aneka Tambang soared 4.86 percent, Vale Indonesia dipped 0.65 percent, Bukit Asam surged 6.47 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia dropped 1.35 percent, Bank Central Asia lost 0.39 percent, Bank Mandiri collected 0.34 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia retreated 1.46 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia added 0.28 percent, Indosat declined 1.86 percent and Bumi Resources was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street offers little guidance as stocks showed a lack of direction on Tuesday, bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before finishing mixed.
The Dow shed 53.02 points or 0.22 percent to 24,370.24, while the NASDAQ added 11.31 points or 0.16 percent to 7,031.83 and the S&P 500 fell 0.94 points or 0.04 percent to 2,636.78.
Renewed optimism about U.S.-China trade talks contributed to the initial strength on Wall Street after a telephone call between top officials from the world's two largest economies.
But skepticism resurfaced following reports that the Trump administration is preparing a series of actions this week to call out China for allegedly stealing U.S. trade secrets and technologies.
A testy public exchange between Trump and top Democratic leaders over funding for his proposed border wall may have also raised concerns about a partial government shutdown.
Crude oil futures rebounded to close higher on Tuesday, aided by an unexpected supply cut from Libya. Crude oil futures for January ended up $0.65 or 1.3 percent at $51.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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