Jakarta. Indonesia’s benchmark stock index plunged nearly 4% by midday on Monday as foreign selling intensified following MSCI index removals, a fresh rupiah low and mounting global risk aversion tied to US-China tensions and the escalating US-Iran conflict.

Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) fell 3.76% or 252 points to 6,470 at the midday break, after moving between 6,398 and 6,631.

Trading volume reached 21.5 billion shares with turnover totaling Rp 11.96 trillion ($676.92 million) across 1.7 million transactions. Decliners heavily outpaced gainers, with 682 stocks falling, 84 advancing and 52 unchanged.

BRI Danareksa Sekuritas said the selloff was driven by a combination of domestic and global pressures. The rupiah weakened to a fresh record low, increasing concerns over foreign capital outflows, while MSCI removed several Indonesian stocks from its Standard and Small Cap indexes, triggering additional foreign selling pressure.

The brokerage added that FTSE Russell had yet to upgrade Indonesia’s market classification, further dampening investor sentiment.

Externally, markets were weighed down by the lack of major breakthroughs in the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, while rising tensions between the US and Iran fueled broader risk-off sentiment across Asian markets.

The sharp decline in the JCI and rupiah prompted a response from Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, who said the turbulence reflected short-term sentiment rather than deteriorating economic fundamentals.

“It’s okay, we’ll fix it. The economic fundamentals remain solid. This is a short-term sentiment issue,” Purbaya said in Jakarta on Monday.

Purbaya said the government’s priority was to shield economic growth from disruptions caused by global market volatility and maintain long-term stability.

“I’m focused on protecting the economic foundation by ensuring growth is not disrupted,” he said.

The government has also started intervening in the bond market to maintain investor confidence, particularly among foreign holders of Indonesian sovereign debt.

“We have started entering the market, although only in a small amount so far. Starting today, we will step in more significantly so the bond market remains under control,” Purbaya said.

He added that stabilizing the bond market could help stem foreign capital outflows and ease pressure on the rupiah, preventing deeper depreciation in the local currency.

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