Jakarta. Indonesia’s stock market opened slightly lower on Tuesday, with investors weighing mixed domestic sentiment following the appointment of a new Bank Indonesia deputy governor, while remaining cautious amid fresh volatility in global markets.

Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) slipped 0.01% or 0.76 points to 8,974.56 at the open, moving in a narrow range of 8,952 to 8,978 in early trade.

RTI data showed 1.68 billion shares had changed hands within the first minutes of trading, with turnover reaching Rp 895.55 billion ($53.29 million) across 123,051 transactions. Gainers slightly outnumbered decliners, with 229 stocks rising, 209 falling and 207 unchanged.

Pilarmas Investindo Sekuritas said domestic financial markets were showing mixed sentiment after the appointment of Thomas Djiwandono as deputy governor of Bank Indonesia. While his confirmation after the fit-and-proper test was seen as potentially supportive for market confidence, particularly after he stressed that he had resigned from party politics and would safeguard central bank independence, lingering concerns remain.

These include his personal and historical proximity to power, notably his status as President Prabowo Subianto’s nephew, which Pilarmas said could continue to raise questions among some investors in the near term. The brokerage also noted that greater emphasis on fiscal–monetary policy synergy could be interpreted as a risk of increased fiscal pressure on monetary policy if state financing needs expand. As a result, domestic sentiment is expected to improve only gradually and remain highly sensitive to global yield movements and perceptions of policy independence.

On the global front, Pilarmas said market sentiment was being driven by an “overly aggressive” strengthening of the Japanese yen. The currency jumped about 1.5% to around 153.31 per dollar, its strongest level since early November, after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi signaled potential government intervention to curb excessive weakness in what she called an “abnormal market.”

Pilarmas noted Japan had previously spent nearly $100 billion to defend the yen when it approached the psychologically important 160-per-dollar level, highlighting the role of currency control in managing imported inflation, particularly food and energy. The yen’s rally pressured risk assets, with Japan’s Nikkei sliding nearly 1.8%, while a sharp rise in Japanese government bond yields unsettled investors and spilled over into global bond markets.

Across Asia, markets opened mixed. Japan’s Nikkei slipped 0.07% to 52,847, South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.34% to 4,932, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.36% to 26,863. China’s Shanghai SSE eased 0.16% to 4,125.

On Wall Street, US stocks edged higher on Monday. The S&P 500 rose 0.5%, recovering losses from last week’s dip, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 313 points, or 0.6%. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.4%.

Market sentiment was also weighed down by President Donald Trump’s threat to impose a 100% tariff on Canadian goods should Canada sign a free trade deal with China.

Investors are bracing for further swings ahead of key events this week, including the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision on Wednesday. While the central bank has been cutting rates and signaling potential further easing in 2026 to support jobs and growth, most economists expect it to hold steady this week as inflation remains above the Fed’s 2% target. Comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell are expected to be closely watched for policy signals.

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