Jakarta. Indonesia's benchmark stock index opened higher on Thursday, tracking Wall Street gains after softer-than-expected US producer inflation strengthened expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates on hold, even as investors weighed Indonesia's rising external debt and fiscal outlook.

Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) rose 15 points, or 0.24%, to 6,056 in early trading, after moving within a range of 6,052-6,071.

In the opening minutes, trading volume reached 2.46 billion shares with turnover of Rp 866.3 billion ($47.94 million) across more than 227,000 transactions. Advancers outnumbered decliners 271 to 174, while 235 stocks were unchanged.

Bank Indonesia reported that the country's external debt stood at $444.4 billion in May, up 2.1% year-on-year, driven by stronger growth in public-sector borrowing by the government and central bank, while private external debt continued to contract at a slower pace.

Government external debt reached $217.3 billion, rising 3.7% from a year earlier, while private external debt edged down 0.1% to $195.9 billion.

Phintraco Sekuritas said the government has confirmed it will not raise tax rates as part of its strategy to boost state revenue in 2026. Instead, it has begun increasing non-tax state revenue (PNBP) tariffs across several ministries and agencies.

The move comes as tax revenue is projected to fall short of the 2026 state budget target. The government has revised its 2026 PNBP outlook upward to Rp 575.1 trillion, equivalent to 125.2% of the budget target of Rp 459.2 trillion.

"The figure is also projected to grow 6.2% compared with last year's realization," Phintraco Sekuritas said.

Kiwoom Sekuritas Indonesia said global market sentiment remained positive after US June producer price data came in below expectations. Headline producer prices fell 0.3% month-on-month, compared with expectations of no change, while core producer price index (PPI) rose 0.2%, below the 0.3% consensus forecast. On an annual basis, headline PPI stood at 5.5% and core PPI at 4.7%, both below market expectations.

"This data reinforced the view that inflationary pressures are beginning to ease, so the chance of a Fed interest rate hike at the meeting late July dropped to around 10%. Investors are now shifting their focus to the second-quarter earnings season, where the performance of technology and AI issuers is expected to determine the market's next direction," Kiwoom said in its Thursday research.

US stocks closed higher on Wednesday after upbeat corporate earnings reports offset concerns over oil prices, which climbed to their highest level in a month amid the Iran conflict.

The S&P 500 gained 0.4%, ending within 0.5% of its record high set last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 150 points, or 0.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.6%.

Across Asia as of 8:54 a.m. Jakarta time on Thursday, Japan's Nikkei fell 3%, South Korea's Kospi dropped 6.67%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.54%, and China's Shanghai Composite slipped 1.12%.

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