Indonesian stock market trade halted after drop

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 10/08/2008 2:05 PM  |  Business

Trading on Indonesia's main stock market was suspended Wednesday after the benchmark stock index plunged 10 percent due to fears about the global financial crisis.

PT Bursa Efek Indonesia (BEI), a company that manages the Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX), suspended equity and derivative trading at 11:06 a.m. after the Composite Stock Price Index sank 168.1 points, or 10.4 percent to 1,451.669 points.

The decrease was driven by huge drops in commodities stocks. The index has fallen more than 20 percent over the last three days.

The decision was made on the back of market considerations, the acting Finance Minister Sofyan Djalil said.

"The 10 percent decline cued BEI to suspend the market after consulting Bapepam (the Capital Market and Financial Institutions Supervisory Agency)," he said , as quoted by Kompas.com.

Sofyan said BEI was right to suspend trading because the "index drop was not normal." (dre)

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