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hare prices on the Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX) plunged nearly 2 percent on Monday following the announcement of more weak trade data and negative sentiments in regional stock markets.

Price benchmark the Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) plunged by 1.99 percent on Monday to end the day at 4,837, a level not seen since last June.

All major indexes in Southeast Asia ended trading in the red, but none slipped by more than 1 percent. All benchmark indexes but India'€™s S&P Sensex closed lower than the previous trading day, with China'€™s SSE Comp. making the sharpest decline as it slumped by 2 percent.

The JCI is so far the worst-performing index in Asia, having plunged by 7.45 percent year-to-date.

Hans Kwee from Investa Saran Mandiri said that the combination of negative global sentiment and the announcement of the country'€™s weak trade data played a big part in pulling down the index on Monday.

Indonesian trading and consumption data announced earlier in the day, Hans said, showed an alarming level of economic activity in the country that had further raised the concerns of equity investors.

'€œThe latest data showed that Indonesia recorded trading surpluses in May, but the data also showed that both our imports and exports declined sharply, showing that our economy is stagnant,'€ he said.

'€œMeanwhile our automotive sales and cement sales also dropped significantly, indicating that corporate earnings might still be under pressured in the second quarter.'€

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) announced Monday that the country enjoyed a trade surplus of US$950 million in May, but the surplus stemmed more from a 21.4 percent decline in imports rather than the surge in exports, which dropped 15.24 percent year-on-year in May.

According to the new sales data issued by the association of motorcycle producers, motorcycle sales dropped 36.5 percent in May from a year earlier, indicating people'€™s decreased buying power.

T. Heldy Arifien from KDB Daewoo Securities said that the JCI was expected to trade sideways this week, as investors were cautious about the US Federal Reserve'€™s meeting, scheduled on Wednesday and Friday, and no strong domestic catalysts were expected to push up the index ahead of Ramadahan and Idul Fitri.

All 10 sub-indexes in the bourse plunged on Monday, led by property, construction and agriculture shares that slipped by more than 3 percent each. Foreign investors made a Rp 13.9 billion ($1.02 million) net buy on Monday, the first net daily purchase since May 27. Foreign Investors have recorded more than Rp 15 trillion in weekly net sells in seven consecutive weeks.

Hans said that the net buy was driven by foreign investors injecting more capital in its thinning Indonesian portfolio, with year-to-date net purchases currently hovering below Rp 4 trillion.

Most Southeast Asian stock markets fell on Monday, with Singapore down after three sessions of gains, as concerns about failed Greek debt talks hit investor sentiment.

Singapore'€™s Straits Times Index shed 1.1 percent, reversing from a third straight gain on Friday when the index had touched a two-week closing high. In Bangkok, the SET index eased 0.4 percent, heading for a second session of losses.

MSCI'€™s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.8 percent after Greece'€™s talks with lenders to avert a default ended with no agreement and Wall Street logged losses ahead of a Fed meeting.