Jakarta. Indonesian stocks opened lower on Tuesday as investors weighed uncertainty surrounding Bank Indonesia's leadership transition and awaited the Federal Reserve's policy decision later this week.

Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) fell 10 points, or 0.16%, to 6,175 at the opening. The index moved within a range of 6,169 to 6,199. Trading volume reached 2.8 billion shares with a turnover of Rp 901 billion ($49.81 million) across more than 162,000 transactions. Advancers outnumbered decliners 281 to 192, while 231 stocks were unchanged.

Kiwoom Sekuritas Indonesia said the process of appointing a new Bank Indonesia governor has come under close scrutiny after Perry Warjiyo officially resigned for personal reasons.

The brokerage noted that House of Representatives Commission XI has confirmed the selection will follow the mechanism stipulated under the Bank Indonesia Law through an objective and professional fit-and-proper test. In the meantime, Senior Deputy Governor Destry Damayanti has been appointed acting governor to ensure policy continuity and maintain financial system stability during the transition.

"Market participants and economists believe a transparent, merit-based selection process that preserves the central bank's independence is crucial to maintaining BI's credibility, rupiah stability, inflation control, and investor confidence amid global economic uncertainty," Kiwoom said.

Phintraco Sekuritas warned that any significant shift in monetary policy or signs that the central bank's independence is being undermined could put further pressure on the rupiah, increase volatility in the government bond market, and weigh particularly on banking stocks.

On the external front, Kiwoom said investor sentiment remained cautious despite temporary support from a sharp decline in oil prices, which eased inflation concerns ahead of the Fed's interest rate decision and the start of earnings season for major technology companies.

Markets are now focused on the Federal Reserve's policy announcement and Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's press conference on Wednesday. The central bank is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged as US inflation continues to moderate and lower oil prices help ease price pressures.

"Investors will closely watch Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's remarks for signals on the direction of monetary policy for the remainder of the year," Kiwoom said.

Wall Street closed mixed on Monday after early gains faded. The S&P 500 finished little changed at 7,413, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.2% to 24,932. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% to 52,210.

Across Asia, regional markets traded mostly lower as of 9:12 a.m. Jakarta time. Japan's Nikkei dropped 4.27%, South Korea's Kospi tumbled 8.30%, and Shanghai's SSE Index fell 0.53%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.52%.

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