Ria Fortuna Wijaya, Jakarta – Indonesian stocks ended lower on Wednesday as investors reacted to global rating agencies' concerns over Bank Indonesia's independence after Governor Perry Warjiyo's resignation, adding to caution ahead of the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision.
Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) fell 39 points, or 0.64%, to close at 6,091 after trading between 6,029 and 6,174. Trading volume reached 40.1 billion shares worth Rp 22.97 trillion ($1.26 billion) in more than 1.9 million transactions. Declining stocks outnumbered gainers 468 to 177, while 148 issues were unchanged.
Pilarmas Investindo Sekuritas said the market was pressured by a combination of domestic and external factors.
Domestically, investors remained focused on Perry's abrupt resignation after Moody's Ratings, Fitch Ratings, and S&P Global Ratings highlighted central bank independence, monetary policy credibility, and policy consistency as key factors in maintaining market confidence. The brokerage said the assessments prompted investors to adopt a wait-and-see stance while awaiting the appointment of a credible permanent BI governor.
S&P Global Ratings said Perry's resignation does not directly affect Indonesia's sovereign credit rating but could increase uncertainty over the country's economic policy outlook. According to Bloomberg, citing S&P sovereign analyst Rain Yin, the resignation comes at a time when investor confidence in Indonesian assets has already weakened, potentially putting short-term pressure on the rupiah and raising government borrowing costs. S&P also warned that downside risks to Indonesia's sovereign rating could increase if fiscal or external conditions deteriorate further or become more structural, although its recent affirmation of Indonesia's rating and stable outlook reflects expectations that those pressures will ease in the coming months.
Externally, Asian markets were mixed as renewed tensions between the United States and Iran reignited concerns over global energy supplies. Iran launched ballistic missiles toward US positions in the Middle East, while the US military said it intercepted the attack before conducting joint operations with Saudi forces in Iraq against Iran-backed militants. Tehran also rejected Oman's proposal to share control of the Strait of Hormuz, insisting key shipping lanes remain under its control.
"Meanwhile, the market is awaiting the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision on Thursday local time, with a 67.9% probability that the benchmark interest rate will remain unchanged," Pilarmas wrote in its Wednesday research note.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea's Kospi plunged 6% after recovering from losses of more than 8% earlier in the session as AI-related technology shares remained under pressure. Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 1.5%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 2% and China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.4%.
Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 edged up 0.2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1%, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.2%.