INDOPOSCO.ID – Indonesia’s financial markets came under renewed pressure at the start of the week, as both the benchmark stock index and the rupiah weakened sharply, fueling concerns over global economic uncertainty and foreign capital outflows.
Despite the turbulence, Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said the market movement does not reflect weakness in the country’s economic fundamentals.
He stressed that the current pressure is largely driven by short-term market sentiment and temporary global factors rather than domestic structural problems.
“It’s okay, we will fix it. The economic fundamentals remain strong; this is only a short-term sentiment issue,” Purbaya said in Jakarta on Monday (May 18, 2026).
During Monday morning trading, the Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) opened down 94.34 points, or 1.40 percent, at 6,447.97. Selling pressure intensified just minutes after the market opened. Within two minutes, the index had fallen deeper by 2.59 percent.
The correction continued throughout the session. About an hour into trading, the JCI had plunged as much as 4.3 percent to the 6,428 level.
In the currency market, the rupiah also weakened. The Indonesian currency opened down 75 points to Rp17,672 per US dollar.
According to Purbaya, the latest market pressure has been driven more by external dynamics than domestic conditions. For that reason, the government is prioritizing efforts to keep economic growth on track in order to maintain investor confidence.
“I am focused on safeguarding the economic foundation by ensuring growth remains unaffected,” he said.
In addition to protecting growth momentum, the government has begun intervening in the government bond market to contain pressure that could trigger broader sell-offs.
“We have already entered the market, though only in a limited way. Starting today, we will intervene more significantly so that the bond market remains under control,” Purbaya explained.
He added that maintaining stability in the bond market is crucial to prevent foreign investors from rushing to exit their holdings over fears of capital losses caused by falling bond prices.
“That way, foreign investors holding bonds will not leave because they fear capital losses from declining bond prices. This should also provide some support for the rupiah,” he said. (her)
