The Jakarta Composite Index, the main price gauge at the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), gained ground in early trading despite reports of an overnight-face-off between police and protesters in Jakarta, in which six people were killed.

However, after selling pressure in the afternoon session, the index fell slightly to close at 5,939.64 points, down only 0.2 percent from the day before.

Newly listed property firm PT Bliss Properti Indonesia was the biggest loser of the day with a 24.62 percent decline. Fisheries firm PT Inti Agri Resources and media company PT Mahaka Media, owned by Erick Thohir, the chairman of the campaign team of President Joko “Jokowi’ Widodo and his running mate Ma’ruf Amin, fell 8.2 percent and 5.58 percent, respectively.

Securities analysts said the riots, which occurred following the announcement of the results of the presidential election, had triggered panic selling in certain blue chips, but the impact on the overall market was limited.

Net buying by foreign investors increased to Rp 702.93 billion (US$48.41 million) during the day, indicating confidence among foreign investors in the Indonesian stock market.

Pilarmas Investindo Sekuritas research and investment director Maximilianus Nico Demus said the prices of certain shares fell as investors sold them on fears that growing protests over the election results could cause instability.

In general, however, investors believed the reelection of President Jokowi brought more certainty to the country’s economy, he said. “The announcement creates political stability, which had a positive impact on the market,” he said.

Reports that the United States decided to ease a ban on Chinese tech giant Huawei also added some positive sentiment. In spite of the fact that the rioting showed no signs of stopping, Nico predicted that the main price index would fluctuate in the range of 5,917 to 5,995 points in the next few days.

Meanwhile, the rupiah fell to 14,525 per US dollar as the violent protest following the announcement of the presidential election results would trigger capital outflows, another financial analyst said.

Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution said the decline of the JCI and the weakening of the rupiah had not been caused by the riots but rather by the escalation of the trade conflict between the US and China.

Asian Development Bank Institute economic observer Eric Sugandi told the Post that the fall of the rupiah over fears of instability might have been caused by the postelection protests and the increase in foreign fund outflows from Indonesian stocks and bonds.

He predicted that the rupiah would still fluctuate between 14,300 and 14,700 per dollar over the next few days. However, he said, Bank Indonesia (BI) would continue to intervene in the market to protect the rupiah from further falling.

BI spokesperson Onny Widjanarko said the central bank would always ensure monetary stability, including with regard to the currency and inflation, especially during times of unrest.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks were on shaky ground on Wednesday, as earlier relief over Washington’s temporary relaxation of curbs against China’s Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. failed to offset deeper worries about trade frictions between the world’s two largest economies, Reuters reported.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan initially edged up following gains on Wall Street but was last down 0.15 percent.

Australian stocks slipped 0.25 percent, South Korea’s KOSPI fell 0.45 percent and Japan’s Nikkei edged up 0.05 percent.

The US Commerce Department on Monday granted Huawei Technologies a license to buy US goods until Aug. 19, a move intended to give telecom operators that rely on Huawei time to make other arrangements.

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