Market Watches Protests, IHSG Opens Lower

The Jakarta Composite Index (IHSG) on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI) opened lower on Thursday (27/8/2026), falling 15.34 points or 0.24 percent to 6,390.35. The LQ45 index of 45 leading stocks also declined 2.47 points or 0.39 percent to 630.08.

“The IHSG is expected to move in the range of 6,350–6,450 during Thursday’s trading,” said Phintraco Sekuritas Head of Research Ratna Lim in her analysis in Jakarta on Thursday (27/8/2026).

From overseas, US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) inflation data for July 2026 came in slightly higher than expected. US PCE inflation was recorded unchanged at 3.7 percent year-on-year (yoy) in July 2026, slightly above the estimate of 3.6 percent.

On a monthly basis, the PCE index rose 0.2 percent month-to-month (mtm) in July 2026, exceeding market expectations of 0.1 percent after falling 0.1 percent in June 2026.

For the core PCE index, inflation remained at 3.3 percent year-on-year in July 2026, still far above the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent.

Meanwhile, the US economy grew 1.5 percent in the second quarter of 2026, slowing from 2.1 percent in the previous quarter and in line with initial estimates.

With data showing the economy remains resilient while inflation is proving difficult to bring down, the Federal Reserve has room to keep interest rates steady while evaluating additional incoming data.

This was reflected in the CME FedWatch Tool, where the probability of the Federal Reserve holding rates steady in September 2026 increased to nearly 64 percent from around 60 percent the previous day.

“Spot gold prices closed lower. The continued decline in gold prices due to PCE inflation data above expectations has raised expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike, while investors await the Fed Chair’s speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium this week,” said Ratna.

On the other hand, market participants appeared cautious ahead of Nvidia’s quarterly earnings release.

Additionally, market sentiment was weighed down by reports that Russia plans to increase attacks on Ukraine after assessing that peace negotiations have reached a deadlock.

Domestically, market participants will be watching demonstrations around the DPR/MPR building, which could pose a short-term risk to the stock market.

As such, investor strategy today tends to be wait-and-see. If the demonstrations proceed peacefully, investors may resume buying.

Meanwhile, Bank Indonesia (BI) will strengthen supervision of foreign exchange flows by utilising supervisory technology.

This move comes amid increasingly complex cross-border transactions and the potential for under-invoicing practices in export activities.

Strengthening foreign exchange flow supervision is necessary to optimise data management and safeguard national economic sovereignty.

To strengthen supervision, BI will enhance synergy and coordination in implementing foreign exchange flow policies with ministries, agencies, and stakeholders.

Meanwhile, as part of stimulus measures, the government projects the Smart Indonesia Card (KIP) for Higher Education budget in 2027 to reach Rp 15.37 trillion.

The budget will be used to fund 966,623 student beneficiaries. This budget is an increase compared to the 2026 budget of Rp 15.3 trillion.

The stimulus is expected to help boost public purchasing power and expand access to higher education for students from poor and vulnerable families.

In trading on Wednesday (26/8), European markets mostly strengthened. The Euro Stoxx 50 rose 0.30 percent, the UK FTSE 100 fell 0.07 percent, Germany’s DAX rose 0.08 percent, and France’s CAC rose 0.27 percent.

US markets on Wall Street on Wednesday (26/8) moved lower. The S&P 500 fell 0.02 percent to 7,675.70, the Nasdaq fell 0.08 percent to 26,130.20, and the Dow Jones fell 0.21 percent to 53,463.88.

Asian regional stock markets this morning included the Nikkei index falling 0.01 percent to 66,253.00, the Shanghai index rising 0.24 percent to 3,921.89, the Hang Seng index falling 0.49 percent to 25,535.00, and the Straits Times index falling 0.65 percent to 5,684.65.