The Financial System Stability Committee (KSSK) has given assurances that the domestic economy will remain stable despite recent internal and external pressures, adding that it would continue without compromise to maintain the stability of the economy going forward.

Among the external pressures were escalating tensions between the United States and China, which recently raised tariffs on each other’s imports after facing a standoff in trade negotiations, as well as geopolitical concerns stemming from United States-Iran tensions, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who chairs the KSSK, said.

She added that external pressures contributed more to volatility of the rupiah exchange rate and a recent sell-off on the stock market than postelection riots in Jakarta following the announcement of the presidential election result by the General Elections Commission (KPU) on May 21.

“The trigger [to volatility] originated from external factors […] when [US President] Donald Trump hiked tariffs on imported Chinese goods. The markets and policymakers were caught off guard with such a drastic development,” Sri Mulyani said on Thursday.

Commenting on the recent Jakarta riots, Sri Mulyani said the business community had anticipated the response.

“Investors and economic players actually [...] expected [a backlash] over the KPU’s announcement of the election winner. So there is no element of surprise,” she said.

She, however, noted that the rioting was regrettable in light of prior praise from world leaders over largely peaceful elections and hoped the disputes could be settled through the available legal corridors.

Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) vice chairwoman for international relations Shinta Kamdani said the businesses community welcomed the KPU’s decision, saying that the incumbent’s win would provide assurances over the continuation of prevailing policies.

Shinta concurred with Sri Mulyani, expressing regret over the riots, which occurred in a key business area in Central Jakarta and affected hotels, shopping centers and nearby offices, while also appreciating the security forces’ efforts to control the situation.

Positive sentiment was reflected on Thursday as the Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) — the main gauge in the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) — was bullish throughout the day and bucked regional trends as most Asian shares ended the day in the red. The JCI closed at 6,032.7, up 1.57 percent compared to the day before.

Fisheries firm PT Inti Agri Resources led the gain with a 17.86 percent share price increase, followed by media firm PT Media Nusantara Citra with 8.42 percent and gadget retailer PT Erajaya Swasembada with 7.28 percent.

Binaartha Parama Sekuritas analyst Nafan Aji told The Jakarta Post on Thursday that the rise during yesterday’s trading day was supported by domestic investors as they recorded a Rp 5.5 trillion (US$379.77 million) in net domestic buy, while foreign investors sold off their shares at Rp 546.25 billion as the situation grew more secure.

Lucky Ariesandi, Bahana Sekuritas research director, said the riots had little to no effect on domestic investors, hence the buying spree. However, he warned that if the conflict continued, it could have a grave impact on foreign capital inflows.

Given that the protests were largely contained, Nafan predicted that the JCI would continue to maintain its bullish stance on Friday and fluctuate within a range of 5,904 to 6,109.

On the spot market, the rupiah traded at a stronger position by 0.31 percent at 14,480 per US dollar on Thursday, according to data from Bloomberg.

Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo, who is also a KSSK member, said the central bank maintained its presence in both secondary sovereign debt papers (SBNs) and money markets to ensure that the rupiah remained stable.

He also said confidence from foreign investors remained high as the central bank recorded Rp 1.7 trillion (US$ 117.13 million) in foreign capital inflows to the SBN market over the last two days.

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