Hooray, Today the JCI Turns Green: Here's Why

The Composite Stock Price Index (JCI) of the Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI) closed stronger on Thursday afternoon amid concerns over the violation of the ceasefire agreement between Iran and the United States (US) and Israel. The JCI closed up 28.38 points or 0.39% at 7,307.59. Meanwhile, the LQ45 index of 45 leading stocks rose 0.28 points or 0.04% to 733.90. “Asian markets were dominated by weakness, in line with slightly rising oil prices amid ongoing uncertainty regarding the ceasefire agreement between Iran and the US and Israel,” said Maximilianus Nico Demus, Associate Director of Research and Investment at Pilarmas Investindo Sekuritas, known as Nico, in his analysis in Jakarta on Thursday (9/4). Developments in the Middle East conflict saw a senior Iranian official state that several elements of the ceasefire proposal have been violated following Israel’s latest attack on Lebanon, while Tehran continues to largely block the Strait of Hormuz. Global crude oil prices reversed course to strengthen, with WTI at $97.44 per barrel and Brent at $97.77 per barrel during Thursday (9/4) trading at 4:54 PM WIB. On the other hand, the latest policy meeting minutes from the US central bank, the Fed, indicated that more members see potential interest rate hikes as a necessary step to curb inflation, although many still hope the next move could be a rate cut. Domestically, President Prabowo Subianto inaugurated an electric vehicle factory and expressed his commitment to supporting downstreaming. Additionally, he stated that national fuel oil (BBM) supplies are secure for the next year, reducing concerns over the escalating Middle East conflict that shows no signs of abating. Opening weaker, the JCI remained in negative territory until the close of the first trading session. In the second session, the JCI moved into positive territory until the close of trading. Based on the IDX-IC Sectoral Index, four sectors strengthened, led by the energy sector up 2.03%, followed by the non-primary consumer goods sector and the infrastructure sector, rising 1.82% and 0.47% respectively. Meanwhile, seven sectors corrected, with the industrial sector falling the most at minus 1.36%, followed by the financial sector and the primary consumer goods sector, down 1.24% and 0.68% respectively. The stocks with the largest gains were PEGE, HDFA, ASPI, APIC, and MSIN. The stocks with the largest declines were TEBE, GSMF, GULA, LFLO, and MEGA. Share trading frequency was recorded at 2,242,170 transactions, with 29.04 billion shares traded worth Rp16.97 trillion. 278 stocks rose, 378 fell, and 164 remained unchanged. Regional Asian stock markets this afternoon included the Nikkei index weakening 413.10 points or 0.78% to 55,895.32, the Shanghai index weakening 28.83 points or 0.73% to 3,966.17, the Kuala Lumpur index weakening 10.07 points or 0.59% to 1,686.24, and the Straits Times index weakening 18.97 points or 0.38% to 4,977.08.