Jakarta (ANTARA) - The composite share price index (IHSG) at the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) opened higher, on Thursday morning, driven by limited positive catalysts.

The IHSG gained 7.4 points, or 0.12 percent, to 6,392.39. The index of the 45 most liquid stocks, or LQ45, inched up 1.73 points, or 0.17 percent, to 1,023.33.

"The limited internal and external positive catalysts for the market may restrict the IHSG to further move to the positive zone during the share trading today," Valbury Sekuritas chief researcher Alfiansyah stated.

The global uncertainty arising from the US-China trade war had an impact on the slow global trade, particularly in the investment, automotive, and technology fields, he noted.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) noted that the global trade only recorded a growth of 0.5 percent in the first quarter of 2019, the slowest yearly growth since 2012, amid signs of probable further significant slowdown.

Moreover, the slow global trade resulted from low demand for investment goods and the limited number of investment activities in Latin America, Europe, and China that are experiencing a significant drop in domestic demand.

The global trade slowdown is also due to the combination of factors playing an important role. Some of the factors are seasonal, while the others may indicate signs of more significant slowdown.

Asian regional markets that strengthened on Thursday morning comprised Nikkei, rising 72.91 points, or 0.34 percent, to 21,782.48; the Hang Seng increasing 55.51 points, or 0.19 percent, to 28,579.55; and the Straits Times Index moving up 7.06 points, or 0.21 percent, to 3,375.5.

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Translator: Citro Atmoko, Suharto
Editor: Azizah Fitriyanti
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