Sawt Falasteen - Indonesia stocks plunge on Trump tariffs after weeklong break

Trump upended the world economy last week with sweeping tariffs that have raised fears of an international recession and triggered criticism even from within his own Republican Party.

The benchmark Jakarta Composite Index fell 9.19 percent at the open, down 598.56 points to 5,912.06 as markets in Southeast Asia's biggest economy reopened following a closure since March 28 because of public holidays.

It was their lowest level since June 2021, coming a day after global stock markets and oil prices collapsed further on a black Monday.

The sharp fall in Jakarta triggered a 30-minute trading suspension, a stock exchange spokesperson said in a statement.

When trading resumed, the market stabilised slightly to a drop of 7.82 percent as of 11 am (0400 GMT), just above the 6,000 mark.

Ahead of the opening, Indonesia's stock exchange said trading would be further suspended if the market fell 15 percent, and trading would be halted for the day if the market dropped 20 percent "to ensure orderly, fair and efficient securities trading".

The stock exchange also said if an individual share fell by 15 percent, any sell orders below that price would be turned down.

- 'Escalation of global risks' -

Analysts said the sell-off reflected investor fears of a wider global trade war.

"The trading halt... was a strong signal of the market's deep concerns about the escalation of global risks," Permata Bank chief economist Josua Pardede told AFP.

The Indonesian central bank said Monday it would "intervene aggressively" to support the suffering rupiah when markets reopened on Tuesday to tamper the fallout of Trump's tariffs.

The currency was down more than one percent on Tuesday against the dollar, according to spot markets.

The central bank said it had already intervened in the offshore rupiah market ahead of the reopening.

The rupiah was already punished last month as confidence waned in President Prabowo Subianto's handling of the economy and fears over the country's growth prospects.

Trump set an additional rate of 32 percent on goods from Indonesia, higher than the baseline 10 percent for all countries hit with levies.

Prabowo has said Jakarta will pursue diplomacy by sending a high-level delegation to the United States, instead of retaliating to the tariffs.

O.Mousa--SF-PST