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Stocks near 3-year low as foreign investors post huge sell-off amid virus fears
The number of new COVID-19 coronavirus cases outside China for the first time exceeded the number of new cases where the outbreak began.
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Visitors take pictures of the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) trading board in Jakarta on Monday, Dec. 30, 2019. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
F
oreign investors sold Rp 1.05 trillion (US$75.8 million) more in Indonesian stocks than they bought on Thursday, as selling sprees hit markets across Asia and Europe, fueled by spooked investors and economic uncertainties over the spreading coronavirus outbreak.
The selling spree caused Indonesia’s benchmark stock index, the Jakarta Composite Index (JCI), to drop by 2.69 percent on Thursday to 5,535.69, a level unseen since March 2017, according to data from the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX).
IDX president director Inarno Djajadi attributed the rout to panicking stock market investors around the globe as the number of new COVID-19 coronavirus cases outside China for the first time exceeded the number of new cases where the outbreak began.
“This had quite a significant impact on our market,” Inarno told The Jakarta Post over the phone.
According to the World Health Organization, there were 459 new cases and 44 deaths in 37 countries as of Wednesday. China reported 412 new confirmed cases.
The coronavirus has infected more than 80,000 people and killed nearly 2,800, the majority in China. Cities in the world’s second-largest economy are in lockdown, with factories temporarily halting production.
Read also: Indonesia stock index plunges to three-year low amid virus fears
