Jakarta. Indonesia’s benchmark stock index opened lower on Wednesday, tracking a broad global selloff amid renewed trade tensions involving the United States and Europe, while domestic sentiment remained mixed.

The Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) fell 40 points, or 0.44%, to 9,094 in early trading, moving within a range of 9,060–9,104.

RTI data in the first five minutes of trade showed volume of 6.07 billion shares, with turnover reaching Rp 3.63 trillion ($214.01 million) across more than 353,000 transactions. A total of 158 stocks advanced, 342 declined, and 172 were unchanged.

Global markets have been rattled by renewed uncertainty over US trade policy under President Donald Trump, whose tariff threats have driven sharp swings since the start of his second term. Markets have sold off on fears of higher tariffs, only to rebound when measures are delayed, canceled, or renegotiated.

Over the weekend, Trump said he would impose a 10% import tax starting in February on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland. Combined annual imports from European Union countries exceed those from the US’ two largest individual trading partners, Mexico and China.

Trump also linked his aggressive stance on Greenland to Norway’s decision last year not to award him the Nobel Peace Prize, telling Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre that he no longer felt “an obligation to think purely of peace,” according to a text message released on Monday. The remarks have intensified tensions between Washington and its European allies, particularly over Trump’s stated desire to take control of Greenland, a self-governing territory of NATO member Denmark.

European leaders have reacted with outrage and increased diplomatic activity, weighing possible countermeasures that include retaliatory tariffs and the potential first-ever use of the European Union’s anti-coercion instrument.

The dispute has flared as global leaders gather at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said the new tariff threat is “clearly an overhang” on the meeting, but argued that tensions are likely to ease as negotiations progress. He noted that, as in the past year, rhetoric may prove harsher than the eventual policy outcome.

Tariffs also risk stoking inflation, which could further complicate the task of the Federal Reserve, even though price pressures so far have been less severe than many economists initially feared.

Beyond the US, rising bond yields in Japan added to market caution. Pilarmas Investindo Sekuritas said Japanese government bond yields have surged to their highest level since 2007, reflecting investor concerns over Japan’s fiscal outlook. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has pledged to cut food sales taxes if re-elected in a snap election scheduled for next month, a move seen as leveraging her strong popularity to pursue more expansionary fiscal policies. Current surveys show support at 67%, with 52% of respondents saying the ruling party should retain a parliamentary majority.

Pilarmas noted that while global equity markets may react negatively in the near term, potential capital outflows from the US could open opportunities for Indonesia to attract fresh inflows.

On the domestic front, Finance Minister Purbaya said adding new tiers to the excise tax structure for tobacco products could lift state revenue by trillions of rupiah in 2026, although no official estimate has been released. The policy aims to curb illegal cigarette circulation by channeling it into the formal market, while the government has confirmed it will not raise cigarette excise rates next year. Instead, the focus will be on restructuring tariff layers and tightening enforcement against illegal products.

Pilarmas said the absence of an excise rate hike could help limit margin pressure for tobacco producers, while a shift from illegal to legal consumption may support sales volumes. However, companies with significant exposure to hand-rolled kretek cigarettes or low-priced segments may still face short-term adjustments in costs and distribution. The brokerage added that consistent law enforcement will be key, with effective implementation likely to improve sentiment toward the tobacco sector as excise burdens stabilize and volumes recover.

Overnight, Wall Street posted steep losses as tariff concerns escalated. The S&P 500 slid 143.15 points, or 2.1%, to 6,796, marking its sharpest drop since October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 870.74 points, or 1.8%, to 48,488, while the Nasdaq Composite sank 561.07 points, or 2.4%, to 22,954. Technology stocks led the decline, with Nvidia plunging 4.4% and Apple down 3.5%.

Asian markets followed suit on Wednesday morning. Japan’s Nikkei dropped 1.46% to 52,228, South Korea’s Kospi slid 1.6% to 4,808, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng eased 0.34% to 26,397, and China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.24% to 4,103.

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