Stock Market & Rupiah Update Indonesia: Thursday 25 January
Indonesia's benchmark Jakarta Composite Index fell 0.002 percent to 6,615.33 points on Thursday (25/01), almost unchanged from Wednesday's close. The performance of stocks was quite volatile across the Asian region. While benchmark indexes in the Philippines, Vietnam and South Korea rose sharply, those in Singapore, Thailand, Japan and South Korea saw steep declines. Indonesia's performance was in between the two extremes.
Indonesian stocks are still vulnerable to profit taking after the Jakarta Composite Index surged 4.4 percent between Friday (12/01) and Monday (22/01), touching new all-time record highs along the way.
Possibly the biggest factor that put pressure on several Asian benchmark indexes on Thursdau (25/01) was US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's statement (expressed at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland) that he would welcome a weaker US dollar. After US President Donald Trump had earlier signed a law that puts steep tariffs on imported solar panels (part of the protectionist agenda), investors have started to become concerned about the emergence of a trade war in which countries deliberately let their currencies depreciate in order to boost the competitiveness of export products.
The Indonesian rupiah appreciated 0.18 percent to IDR 13,289 per US dollar on Thursday (25/01). The US dollar fell to a three-year low against the euro.
Indonesian Rupiah versus US Dollar (JISDOR):
| Source: Bank IndonesiaA positive factor on today's trading day was rising crude oil prices. Brent broke the USD $71 per barrel level for the first time since 2014 amid declining US crude inventories (falling for the 10th week in a row) and the weaker US dollar.
