Jakarta. Indonesian stocks opened higher on Tuesday, with the benchmark Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) gaining 20 points, or 0.3%, to 6,639 as investors weighed strong foreign exchange reserves against tighter fiscal space and a lower 2027 energy subsidy allocation.

JCI traded in positive territory between 6,636 and 6,647 in the opening minutes. Data from RTI showed 867.26 million shares had changed hands, with trading value reaching Rp 317.2 billion ($18.01 million) across 62,538 transactions. A total of 320 stocks advanced, 109 declined and 231 were unchanged.

Phintraco Sekuritas said Indonesia’s foreign exchange reserves rose to $146.5 billion in August 2026 from $145.3 billion in July, marking their highest level since March 2026. The increase was driven by higher tax and services receipts as well as government external debt withdrawals.

The higher reserve position could help offset external debt payments and Bank Indonesia’s foreign exchange intervention to maintain rupiah stability, Phintraco said.

The reserves were equivalent to 5.4 months of imports, or 5.3 months of imports and government external debt servicing, well above the international adequacy standard of three months of imports.

Phintraco also highlighted pressure on the government’s fiscal space, noting that ministries and government agencies had requested nearly Rp 1,000 trillion in additional funding for 2027.

The government is unable to accommodate the entire request because of limited fiscal space, the brokerage said. The amount is far above the Rp 9.1 trillion in additional ministry and agency spending that has already been agreed upon.

“The government needs to improve budget efficiency so that the budget deficit does not exceed the set target,” Phintraco said.

Kiwoom Sekuritas Indonesia meanwhile said the government had revised down its 2027 energy subsidy budget to Rp 261.50 trillion from Rp 272.95 trillion, mainly due to a lower assumption for subsidized 3-kilogram LPG consumption.

The government now assumes LPG consumption at 8 million tons, down from 8.94 million tons previously, while 2026 consumption is estimated at 8.67 million tons.

The policy could put pressure on the purchasing power of low-income households if the LPG quota fails to meet demand, Kiwoom said.

“However, should the government still meet LPG needs, the direct impact on purchasing power would be relatively limited, though the gap between actual needs and the budget could potentially become an underpayment to Pertamina and increase the state budget burden the following year,” Kiwoom said.

Globally, US stock markets were closed on Monday for the Labor Day holiday, meaning there was no regular trading on Wall Street.

Investors will next assess the market’s response to stronger-than-expected US employment data and what it means for the Federal Reserve’s policy direction in September.

Pluang Research said the yen’s strengthening beyond last month’s intervention peak was putting additional pressure on the US dollar, supporting gold prices and gold-related assets.

The yen’s gains appeared increasingly driven by expectations of a Bank of Japan rate hike rather than short-term policy intervention, Pluang Research said through their report on Tuesday, potentially making the trend more durable.

In Asian trading as of 9:15 a.m. Jakarta time, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.22%, while South Korea’s Kospi jumped nearly 2%. Shanghai’s SSE Composite fell 0.17%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.41%.

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