TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) at the Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX) rose by 1.79 points or 0.03 percent to commence trading at 5,479.62 points, while the Top 45 (LQ45) Index similarly grew by 0.45 points or 0.05 percent to open at 954.13 points.

"Indonesia's favorable economic performance figures are catalyzing the growth of the JCI. It actually posted a deflation in February while posting a trade surplus for January," said the head of research at Valbury Asia Securities, Alfiansyah, in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recorded a deflation of 0.36 percent for February 2015—the second highest deflation in the past 50 years for the same period—while Indonesia's trade surplus for January stood at US$709.4 million.

Externally speaking, continued Alfiansyah, China's manufacturing sector had shown some positive growth—as indicated by the expansion of several companies and the significant increase in the amount of start-ups.

"The combination of positive domestic and external factors could drive the JCI to move towards the green later on in the day," said Alfiansyah.

A technical analyst for Mandiri Sekuritas, Hadiyansyah, added that should a downtrend continue, then Bank Indonesia (BI) may decide to lower the BI rate by 25 points in the second quarter of 2015, which would be beneficial for shares in the banking, finance and property sectors.

"The JCI is expected to hover between 5,455-5,485 points on Tuesday," said Hadiyansyah.

Meanwhile, across Asia, the Hang Seng Index slipped by 2.26 point or 0.01 percent to open at 24,885.18 points, the Nikkei similarly decreased by 70.85 points or 0.38 percent to open at 18,756.03 points, while the Straits Times climbed by 23,10 points or 0.68 percent to begin trading at 3,426.55 points.

ANTARA