IHSG Plummets over 2% Amid US-Iran Middle East Conflict
Jakarta — Indonesia’s composite stock index (IHSG) opened sharply lower, losing 142.58 points or plummeting 1.73% to 8,092.90 in morning trading on Monday, 2 March 2026.
A total of 556 stocks fell, 56 rose, and 103 remained unchanged. Morning transaction value reached Rp708.27 billion, involving 976.34 million shares across 104,578 transactions.
Within one minute of opening, the IHSG fell further, declining more than 2%.
As markets entered the first week of March 2026, traders faced a combination of geopolitical sentiment and important macroeconomic data releases with the potential to influence global market direction.
Indonesian financial markets faced mounting pressure from various negative sentiments, particularly from overseas sources.
The Middle East situation escalated after the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday, 28 February 2026. The strikes killed senior Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The operations also claimed the lives of numerous senior Iranian military officials. Most recently, former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was reported killed in missile strikes on Tehran, with media close to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also reporting that three of his bodyguards were killed. Israeli military stated that initial operations successfully killed approximately 40 senior Iranian commanders, with plans to expand operations to nuclear facilities.
These developments heighten the risk of prolonged conflict in the Middle East and represent a major market sentiment driver as March begins. Middle East tensions are expected to trigger global uncertainty and could prompt foreign investors to flee emerging markets, particularly Indonesia.
Meanwhile, Asia-Pacific markets collapsed in Monday trading, 2 March 2026, as conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran intensified following reports of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s death.
This situation triggered market concerns about potential disruptions to global energy supplies and increased geopolitical tensions in the Middle East region.
On Sunday, US President Donald Trump stated that military operations in Iran would continue following the deaths of three US military personnel. This statement further deteriorated global market sentiment and prompted investors to shift towards safe-haven assets.
Oil prices surged more than 8%, with West Texas Intermediate and Brent futures contracts trading at US$72.52 and US$79.04 per barrel respectively. Gold futures rose 2.3% as investors sought hedging assets amid mounting uncertainty.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index plummeted nearly 2% at market open, whilst the TOPIX declined 2.1%. However, defence company stocks such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and IHI Corporation strengthened by more than 1%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.38% at the start of trading. Meanwhile, Hang Seng Index futures remained at 26,465, lower than the previous close of 26,630.54.
South Korea’s stock market was closed for a national holiday. In the United States, stock index futures also weakened with Dow Jones Industrial Average futures down 517 points or approximately 1%, whilst the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 each fell around 1% and slightly more than 1% respectively.