Jakarta Composite Index Slumps as Many Property Stocks Tumble

Amid easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and improving global investor sentiment, Indonesia’s stock market came under renewed pressure. The Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) fell 3.46 percent to 6,370. The JCI was among the region’s worst performers, even as most regional bourses were relatively stable or had edged higher. The decline appears ironic given that European stocks opened higher, most Asia-Pacific indices were steady, and global bond yields were retreating, yet the JCI moved in the opposite direction. The weakness in the JCI was accompanied by declines in shares of property sector issuers, including some of the national top-listed property companies. For example, PT Agung Podomoro Land Tbk (APLN) traded at Rp 169 per share at the opening, but had slipped to Rp 162 per share. Only a few property sector issuers remained in the green. One of them is Ciputra (CTRA), whose shares rose 3.05 percent since the opening of trading. As information, one of the main investor concerns is the movement of the rupiah. The rupiah weakened again to around Rp 17,706 per US dollar, a development investors view as a key alert for the market. When the rupiah weakens alongside foreign outflows from the stock market, pressure on the JCI will become even greater.