Jakarta. Indonesia’s benchmark stock index fell slightly on Wednesday, dragged by local profit-taking, foreign outflows, and renewed concern over the state budget deficit.

Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) closed down 15.34 points, or 0.19 percent, to 8,051, moving between 7,936 and 8,132 throughout the session. Turnover reached Rp 28.6 trillion ($1.7 billion), with 35.2 billion shares changing hands across 2.7 million transactions. A total of 232 stocks advanced, 449 declined, and 122 were unchanged.

According to Pilarmas Investindo Sekuritas, foreign investors continued to sell off shares, following a net sell of Rp 1.32 trillion in the regular market the previous day. “Selling pressure dominated today’s trading as investors took profits amid ongoing foreign outflows,” Pilarmas wrote in a research note.

Market sentiment also weakened after the Finance Minister revealed the government’s fiscal deficit position. Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa earlier announced that the 2025 state budget deficit reached Rp 371.5 trillion ($22.4 billion), or 1.56 percent of GDP as of September 30, below the projected 2.78 percent threshold.

Revenue realization stood at Rp 1,863.3 trillion ($112.4 billion), equal to 65 percent of the target, lower than the Rp 2,008.6 trillion recorded in the same period last year. Expenditure reached Rp 2,234.8 trillion, or 63.4 percent of the target.

“This fiscal gap could weigh on the economy and slow growth momentum,” Pilarmas noted, adding that fiscal discipline remains key to maintaining national resilience.

Regionally, Asian markets mostly strengthened, lifted by optimism over potential US interest rate cuts and the IMF’s upward revision of global growth to 3.2 percent from 3 percent in July.

However, investors stayed cautious amid renewed trade tensions between the US and China, after President Donald Trump threatened an oil embargo against Beijing in response to China’s soybean boycott. “The friction could escalate further and affect global risk appetite,” Pilarmas said.

In China, consumer prices fell 0.3 percent year-on-year in September, steeper than expected, while producer prices contracted 2.3 percent, marking the third straight year of deflation.

Elsewhere, major Asian benchmarks traded higher: Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.8 percent to 47,672, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 2.1 percent to 25,973, Shanghai Composite climbed 1.2 percent, and South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.7 percent as Samsung Electronics advanced 3.7 percent.

Meanwhile on Wall Street, US indexes ended mixed Tuesday as investors juggled hopes of rate cuts with concerns over trade disputes. The S&P 500 slipped 0.2 percent, Dow Jones added 0.4 percent, and Nasdaq lost 0.8 percent.

Technology shares, highly exposed to supply chains and consumer demand in China, remained particularly volatile amid the ongoing policy uncertainty.

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