Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The national stock market this week fell, in response to the government’s decision to remove the Covid-19 death toll as an indicator of handling the pandemic, which was seen as a step backwards in transparency of the severity of the outbreak.
The Composite Stock Price Index (JCI) throughout the week fell 63.94 points, or equivalent to 1.03%, to 6139.492 or dropped from the psychological level of 6,200. At the end of last week, the main benchmark index of the stock exchange was at the level of 6,203,431.
This week’s trading lasts only 4 days due to the commemoration of the Hijri New Year. Of the four days, the JCI only strengthened one day on Thursday. On the other hand, the biggest correction occurred on the first day, Monday, by 1.22%.
Starting the week, the JCI plummeted ahead of the announcement of the extension of Level 4 Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM) on Monday. The Java-Bali PPKM Coordinator Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said the PPKM would be extended until August 16, 2021.
The market had anticipated this development with a massive sell-off that threw the JCI out of the psychological 6,200 level. At that time, Indonesia recorded a death toll of 107,096 people, becoming the country with the 12th worst death rate in the world, according to data Worldometers.
However, in a virtual press conference Monday evening, Luhut instead said that he would issue a mortality indicator in assessing the progress of the pandemic, citing delays in data input. “So this causes a distortion in the assessment,” said Luhut.
Head of the Professional Development Division of the Indonesian Association of Epidemiologists (PAEI) Masdalina Pane questioned the government’s reason for not using the death rate as an indicator for determining the level of PPKM, because it distorts the severity of the pandemic.
He gave the example of West Java and Banten which dropped to PPKM level 3. In fact, the two regions recorded a spike in cases, both positive cases and deaths. “So it seems as if the problem is small. It’s a numbers game,” he was quoted as saying CNN Indonesia.
Data from the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) shows that the total value of transactions per week reached Rp 78.5 trillion, which was obtained from trading of 126.5 billion shares as much as 8.1 million times. Foreign investors recorded net sales (net sell) in the regular market amounting to Rp 404.95 billion.
The biggest selling action hit shares of PT Bukalapak.com Tbk. Foreign investors make net sales (net sell) the shares coded BUKA are worth Rp 1.9 trillion. Shares of unicorns (digital startups / startups valued at over US $ 1 billion) plunged 9.9% during the week.
The newcomer’s stock, which became the first unicorn issuer in Southeast Asia, also scored the largest weekly transaction value, reaching Rp 11.9 trillion, followed by digital bank RP Bank Neo Commerce Tbk (BBYB) shares with a total weekly transaction of Rp 3.5 trillion.
CNBC INDONESIA RESEARCH TEAM
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