Indonesian Stocks Slip as Foreign Selling Clouds GDP Optimism

Indonesian Stocks Slip as Foreign Selling Clouds GDP Optimism

Jakarta. Indonesian stocks closed slightly lower on Thursday as investors remained cautious despite stronger-than-expected economic growth, with continued foreign selling in blue-chip stocks signaling that confidence has yet to fully return to the market.

Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) fell 7 points, or 0.12%, to close at 6,343 after swinging between 6,324 and 6,388 during the session.

Trading volume reached 54.7 billion shares with a turnover of Rp 18 trillion ($1 billion) across more than 2.66 million transactions. Losers outnumbered gainers 337 to 265, while 192 stocks ended unchanged.

Head of Research and Chief Economist at Mirae Asset Sekuritas Indonesia Rully Arya Wisnubroto said the market’s recent rebound has yet to gain solid footing, as gains have been driven largely by speculative stocks rather than fundamentally strong companies.

“The JCI has continued to recover, but the quality of the rally remains limited. The gains have been driven largely by speculative stocks, while foreign investors continue to post net sales in major blue-chip stocks such as TLKM, BBRI, and ASII,” Rully said in a statement on Thursday.

According to Rully, stronger economic growth alone has yet to become the main catalyst for investment decisions.

“Markets are not only looking at the headline economic growth figure but also at the quality and sustainability of that growth. As long as foreign fund inflows have not returned and large-cap stocks have yet to strengthen broadly, investors are likely to remain selective,” he said.

Pilarmas Investindo Sekuritas said market sentiment also remained under pressure from a mix of global and domestic factors.

Investors continued to monitor developments surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy shipping route, after Iran announced it had reached an agreement with Oman on shipping arrangements through the waterway. The deal raised hopes that energy exports could flow more smoothly within the next two to four months.

However, Pilarmas said investors remained cautious because the agreement does not guarantee the full reopening of the strait.

“Concerns also emerged after Yemen’s Houthi group claimed responsibility for an attack on a Saudi Arabian oil tanker in the Red Sea, keeping the risk of disruptions to global energy supplies elevated,” Pilarmas wrote in a research note.

Beyond geopolitical developments, investors were also assessing the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook after weaker US labor market data.

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) data showed US private-sector employment increased by only 44,000 jobs in July, well below expectations of 70,000. The weaker reading prompted markets to lower expectations for Fed rate hikes to one increase by year-end from the previously expected two.

Still, several Fed officials maintained a hawkish tone. Fed Governor Lisa Cook said the central bank remained prepared to raise interest rates if inflation failed to continue easing, while Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said the time was appropriate to begin gradually raising rates.

On the domestic front, Pilarmas said Indonesia’s economy expanded 5.29% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, beating market expectations and helping limit the market’s losses. Economic growth for the first half reached 5.45%.

“With that performance, Indonesia’s economic growth reached 5.45% in the first half of 2026, providing support for the domestic stock market despite persistent global pressures,” the brokerage said.

Regional markets closed mostly lower. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.9%, South Korea’s Kospi plunged 4.6%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.7%, while China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.6%.

Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 slipped 0.2% from its record high to 7,723. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.5% to 54,349, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.8% to 26,363.

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