Investors Wait for the Jokowi Cabinet

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The end of the presidential elections sentiment as well as anticipation of the coming Eid holiday limited the frequency and volume of stock purchases. On yesterday's trade, the Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) edged up 5.4 points (0.11 percent), closing at 5,098.64. Trading volume amounted to 4.5 billion shares valued at Rp6.1 trillion, with foreign net buys reaching Rp386 billion.

Panin Sekuritas analyst Purwoko Sartono said the index tended to move flat. Following Joko Widodo and Jusuf Kalla's victory in the presidential race, there is no positive sentiment capable of pushing up the JCI.

"Investors are still waiting for what programs and what kind of cabinet will be composed by the elected president," he said

The market, according to Purwoko, is hoping that Jokowi's cabinet will comprise of professionals who are capable of overcoming Indonesia's economic problems and challenges. At the moment, the economic growth is decelerating in the range of five percent whilst the trade and current account deficits are widening. The government's budgets were also broken by the fuel subsidy.

The so-called Jokowi effect has led the index to reach a high 5,150 bps last week. Naturally, investors are beginning to take profits. "Share prices that have become expensive proiompted investors to sell rather than buy," said Purwoko.

Today—the last trading day before the long Eid holiday—the JCI is expected to move flat as foreign investors will already be exiting the IDX to look for profits in neighboring countries' stock markets. 

PDAT | M. AZHAR