Jakarta. Indonesian stocks dipped 0.44% to 5,917 during Thursday’s early trading session. The decline was driven by global market anxiety surrounding US inflation will show a slight cooling, moving to 5.3% year-on-year in September from 5.4% in August.
US retail sales figures are also slated for publication on Thursday. Projections suggest a slowdown to 0.3% month-on-month in September, down from the 1.2% growth recorded in August.
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom is preparing to release August gross domestic product data. Forecasts indicate a 0.1% month-on-month contraction, a shift from the 0.4% growth observed in July.
Kiwoom Sekuritas Indonesia observed that Wall Street finished lower on Wednesday, as higher-than-anticipated US inflation figures sparked concerns regarding monetary policy and the valuation of technology stocks.
The S&P 500 fell 1.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 49 points.
Domestically, Phintraco Sekuritas highlighted industry projections suggesting robust expansion within Indonesia’s battery materials sector. The Indonesian Nickel Industry Forum (FINI) anticipates that production capacity for battery raw materials will more than double, exceeding 900,000 tons by the conclusion of 2027.
“This is the result of domestic nickel downstream processing, particularly the production of mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP),” Phintraco Sekuritas said.
This anticipated growth is fueled by the commencement of full-scale operations for various hydrometallurgical processing and refining projects that utilize high-pressure acid leaching (HPAL) technology.
“This will benefit the battery and electric vehicle industries by providing larger supplies and more competitive raw material costs,” Phintraco Sekuritas added.
Across Asia, markets experienced broad declines as of 9:53 a.m. Jakarta time, with South Korean equities facing the most significant downturns.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 plunged 4.81% following reports that the Bank of Japan is hesitant to implement two rapid interest rate hikes this month, though officials remain open to a potential adjustment in December.
“The divergence in policy direction between the two central banks is an important factor for the movement of bond yields, exchange rates, and international capital flows,” Kiwoom said.
South Korea’s Kospi dropped 7.60% to below 5,552 as a tech-sector sell-off intensified in the wake of Wall Street’s losses and the stronger-than-expected US inflation data.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index retreated 1.14%, while the Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.80%.
