Emerging Markets: Indonesian shares slump to five-year lows, rupiah at record trough on energy price strain

Oversea-Chinese Banking

03/06/2026 07:21

Indonesia shares at lowest since May 2021
Rupiah at record low of 17,930
STI surges as much as 1.1% to all-time high
Manila shares climb 1.6% to one-week high
Ringgit slips to near lowest in nearly two months
.
By Sneha  Kumar

    June 3 (Reuters) - Indonesian equities fell 5% on Wednesday to their lowest level in five years, while the rupiah weakened to a record low, as shrinking trade surplus and inflationary pressures underscored challenges from prolonged high energy prices.
A strong dollar =USD pressured currencies across emerging Asia. The Philippine peso PHP= hovered near record lows and the Malaysian ringgit MYR= weakened to a two-month low.
Stock markets in Singapore .STI and Taiwan .TWII scaled record peaks, while shares in the Philippines .PSI jumped nearly 2%, extending gains to a third consecutive session. The MSCI gauge of EM Asia stocks .MIMS00000PUS traded flat.
Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index .JKSE tumbled 5.2% to its weakest point in five years, and posted its worst day of selling in more than two months. On the other hand, the rupiah IDR= plunged to a lifetime low of 17,930 a dollar.
Data released on Tuesday showed Indonesia's trade surplus shrank to a six-year low in April and inflation in May moved toward the top of the target range, coming two weeks after Bank Indonesia's larger-than-expected 50 basis-point rate hike.
"The most immediate trigger is the combination of higher oil prices, a near-vanishing April trade surplus, another record-low rupiah, and concerns that Indonesia's fiscal position will become harder to defend if energy prices stay elevated," said Josua Pardede, chief economist at PermataBank.
In contrast, Philippine stocks .PSI rose nearly 2%, extending gains for a third session after the Department of Energy announced fuel retailers would roll back recent price increases.     
"With crude oil prices declining from the peak of Middle East conflict, we see local prices naturally reflect it," said Kervin Sisayan, head of research at Maybank Securities.
"The decline in retail pump prices despite the minimal intervention from government is a welcome development to help tame inflation."
Higher energy prices have placed significant strain on energy-importing Southeast Asian economies, particularly Indonesia and the Philippines. 
The resulting pressure on trade balances has contributed to capital outflows and weaker currencies. Although the Philippine peso PHP= eased slightly, it remained close to the record low reached earlier this week.    
Elsewhere in emerging Asia, Singapore shares .STI rose as much as 1.1% to an all-time high, buoyed by gains in heavyweight banks DBS Group DBSM.SI and OCBC OCBC.SI. 
Malaysia's benchmark gauge .KLSE added 0.6%, while the ringgit MYR= weakened to 3.98 per dollar, its lowest level in two months.
Adding to regional uncertainty, the Trump administration proposed additional import duties of 10% or 12.5% on goods from 60 economies, including Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, over forced labor failures. 
Markets in South Korea .KS11 and Thailand .SETI were closed for public holidays. 


HIGHLIGHTS:    
** South Korea secures access to Anthropic's Mythos AI model, Science Ministry says
** Goldman upgrades Taiwan, South Korea stocks as Asia rally intensifies
** Indonesia's sovereign wealth fund eyes US dollar bond sale, arranges investor calls


Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0456 GMT
COUNTRY
FX RIC
FX DAILY %
FX YTD %
INDEX
STOCKS DAILY %
STOCKS YTD %
Japan
JPY=
+0.02
-2.01
.N225
2.82
36.30
China
CNY=CFXS
-0.03
+3.26
.SSEC
0.56
3.25
India
INR=IN
-0.51
-6.14
.NSEI
-1.02
-11.04
Indonesia
IDR=
-0.53
-7.00
.JKSE
-4.84
-31.82
Malaysia
MYR=
-0.43
+1.91
.KLSE
0.50
0.67
Philippines
PHP=
-0.07
-4.66
.PSI
1.56
-0.79
S.Korea
KRW=KFTC
-0.40
-5.23
.KS11
-
108.85
Singapore
SGD=
-0.05
+0.45
.STI
0.70
10.48
Taiwan
TWD=TP
+0.09
+0.07
.TWII
2.10
60.59
Thailand
THB=TH
-0.18
-3.82
.SETI
-
26.07


 (Reporting by Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
 ((Sneha.kumar@thomsonreuters.com))