Jakarta, Indonesia’s stock exchange suspended trading for 30 minutes on Wednesday after a sharp sell-off sent the benchmark index tumbling more than 8%, triggering an automatic circuit breaker.

The Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) imposed a temporary trading halt at the start of the afternoon session after the Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) slumped by 718.4 points, or about 8%, to 8,261.7, erasing gains accumulated since last October.

The halt, which lasted 30 minutes, was implemented in line with exchange rules designed to curb excessive market volatility. Market breadth turned sharply negative, with 768 stocks declining, 28 advancing, and 8 unchanged

The steep decline followed the release of an assessment by MSCI Inc. on Tuesday, which included a review of the free-float levels of Indonesian listed companies. Market participants said the announcement weighed heavily on investor sentiment, sparking broad-based selling across sectors.

In response to MSCI’s announcement, the IDX reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening market transparency and improving data quality. The exchange said it is working closely with the Indonesian Central Securities Depository (KSEI) and the Indonesian Clearing and Guarantee Corporation (KPEI), with support from the Financial Services Authority (OJK), to intensify coordination with MSCI and maintain the credibility of Indonesia’s capital market among global investors.

IDX Corporate Secretary Kautsar Primadi Nurahmad said MSCI’s feedback was being treated as an important input in the exchange’s ongoing efforts to enhance governance standards and transparency.

“We are committed to doing our best to increase Indonesia’s weight in the MSCI index,” he said in a written statement on Wednesday.

He added that Indonesia’s weight in MSCI indices plays a strategic role in global capital flows and serves as a key reference for international financial institutions.

The exchange has begun publishing free float data on its official website since Jan. 2, with updates to be released monthly. The initiative is aimed at improving data accuracy, reliability, and alignment with global best practices, while addressing ownership transparency concerns highlighted by MSCI.

While some international investors supported using KSEI’s Monthly Holding Composition Report as an additional reference, MSCI said in its statement that many participants raised concerns over the reliability of shareholder classification and limited visibility into ultimate ownership structures.

Wednesday’s halt marked the latest episode of extreme volatility after two trading halts in 2025. On March 18, 2025, market participants reacted sharply to negative sentiments from downgraded ratings of the Indonesian stock market by Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, which cited increased fiscal risks under the new administration. At the time, Goldman Sachs also downgraded Indonesian equities from overweight to market weight and lowered long-term state-owned enterprise bond recommendations to neutral.

A second halt occurred on April 8, 2025, when the JCI plunged more than 9% at the open, falling below the 6,000 level on its first trading day after the Eid holiday. That sell-off followed a US trade war announcement made during the holiday period, prompting the exchange to suspend trading shortly after the market opened.

Under IDX regulations, a trading halt is imposed for 30 minutes if the JCI falls more than 5 percent in a single trading day. If the index drops beyond 10 percent, trading is halted again for another 30 minutes.

In cases where the JCI declines by more than 15%, the IDX can implement a trading suspension, which may last until the end of the trading session or longer, subject to approval by the OJK.

During a trading halt, all stock transactions are temporarily suspended, preventing investors from buying or selling assets. The exchange may halt trading for the entire market or specific stocks experiencing extreme volatility.

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