Stock Market Update Indonesia: Stocks Drop Sharply after Opening
Indonesian stocks fell sharply after the market opened on Monday (27/04). Indonesia’s benchmark Jakarta Composite Index had dropped 2.61 percent to 5,293.73 points by 12:00 local Jakarta time. This poor performance is most likely due to market participants wait & see attitude before the release of Indonesia’s Q1-2015 GDP growth figure (to be released at the start of May) and the release of Indonesian companies’ Q1-2015 financial earnings reports. Moreover, Indonesia will soon execute several foreign convicted drug traffickers.
On Sunday (26/04), Indonesian authorities gave a 72-hours notification to nine of ten prisoners, mostly foreigners, of their imminent execution. Despite fierce international opposition to these executions, the government of Indonesia announced it will not succumb to foreign pressures.
The performance of Indonesian stocks was not in line with the performance of other Asian stocks. Generally, Asian shares were up at seven-year highs after stellar earnings from several US hi-tech giants. However, investors are cautious ahead of central bank meetings this week in the USA and Japan. Furthermore, discussions between Greece and its creditors are expected to reach a climax this week (after last Friday’s meeting did not lead to a deal).
The US Federal Reserve will start its two-day policy on Tuesday but analysts do not expect to see hints at an interest rate hike after several weak US economic data over the past week.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian rupiah had depreciated 0.24 percent to IDR 12,953 per US dollar by 12:00 local Jakarta time on Monday according to the Bloomberg Dollar Index.