Indonesian Stock Exchange Plummets Amid US-Israel-Iran Conflict, BEI Chief Responds
Jakarta — The Indonesian Stock Exchange (BEI) has addressed the current geopolitical escalation affecting financial markets. Acting Director General Jeffrey Hendrik urged capital market investors to make wise investment decisions. “Adjust your investment strategy to match each investor’s risk tolerance,” he told journalists on Monday, 2 March 2026.
The geopolitical escalation has indeed impacted the financial industry, including Indonesia’s capital market. However, the BEI appealed for investors to remain rational and always pay attention to fundamentals. “Faced with increasing uncertainty due to geopolitical escalation at the global level, we urge investors to remain rational and always pay attention to fundamentals,” he explained.
The conflict between the United States and Israel against Iran has made global financial markets vigilant, including Indonesia. As an emerging market, the domestic stock market faces increased risks of capital outflows as global sentiment deteriorates.
Pressure is typically felt most quickly on stocks with high foreign ownership, large debt levels, and strong sensitivity to changes in global liquidity. During risk-off situations, investors tend to reduce exposure to risky assets and shift funds to instruments considered safer, such as gold, bonds, and money market instruments.
Such sentiment changes are usually reflected in increased volatility in the stock market and weakening exchange rates in developing countries. When global investors begin adjusting their portfolios, stocks with high liquidity and large weightings in the index become the primary candidates for sale due to transaction efficiency.
The Composite Index (IHSG) opened with a sharp correction, losing 142.58 points or plummeting 1.73% to the level of 8,092.90 at the opening of trading on Monday, 2 March 2026. A total of 556 stocks declined, 56 rose, and 103 remained unchanged. Trading value this morning reached Rp708.27 billion, involving 976.34 million shares in 104,578 transactions.
One minute after opening, the IHSG came under even greater pressure, declining more than 2%.