Many Asian stocks are in deep red territory dragged down by a 3.49 percent decline of Japan's Nikkei 225 index in the morning of Friday (23/03). The Nikkei 225 is responding to plunging stocks on Wall Street overnight where the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 2.9 percent, while both the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.5 percent, each. All three benchmark US indexes suffered their biggest drops since 8 February 2018.

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Amid mixed markets in Asia, Indonesia's benchmark Jakarta Composite Index fell 0.95 percent to 6,321.90 points on Thursday (15/03). Asian markets were plagued by the same negative market sentiments that caused the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 to suffer their third consecutive daily decline overnight. Investors continue to be alarmed by trade policy changes initiated by the USA and possibly responded by other nations.

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With Donald Trump in office there exists huge volatility in terms of politics, foreign diplomatic relations, and trade-related policies. One day the US is on the brink of a "fire and fury" war with North Korea, then the next day Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agree to meet for talks. One day the US shocks the world by announcing steep steel and aluminum import tariffs, the next day trading partners are invited to negotiate lower tariffs. One day Rex Tillerson is US Secretary of State, the next he is fired by Trump through Twitter.

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On Thursday evening (08/03) Washington time, South Korea's national security adviser Chung Eui-yong announced - at the White House - that North Korea's belligerent leader Kim Jong Un invited US President Donald Trump for talks. Trump accepted the invitation and both parties are expected to meet by May 2018. It would be an unprecedented move as a sitting US president has never met a North Korean leader.

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Most Asian stocks are in the red zone on Wednesday (07/03) after it was reported that Gary Cohn is to resign as adviser to US President Donald Trump. Cohn, who is well-regarded in the business community and markets, opposes Trump's looming protectionist import tariffs (a 25 percent import tariff on steel and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum). Seeing Cohn lose the battle in the White House, markets have become more concerned about the possible outbreak of a global trade war.

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The Indonesian rupiah has been under heavy pressure over the past month amid US dollar strength ahead of the March Federal Reserve policy meeting where market participants expect to see another interest rate hike. The rupiah weakened 2.92 percent from IDR 13,402 per US dollar on 1 February 2018 to IDR 13,793 on 1 March 2018. Not only the rupiah but basically currencies have been sliding against the US dollar that touched a six-week high earlier in the week.

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Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Lestari Priansari Marsudi said the Indonesian government imposed zero tariffs for certain Palestinian products entering Indonesia since the start of the year. This policy aims at supporting Palestine economically.

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As we are in the middle of the fourth quarter of 2017, we detect rising pressures on the Indonesian rupiah exchange rate amid broad US dollar strength. However, the decision of Indonesia's central bank to leave its interest rate regime unchanged at the November meeting managed to give some support to the rupiah (as well as Indonesia's improving balance of payments, current account deficit, and capital and financial account).

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After three straight sessions of decline, Indonesian stocks are again rebounding toward record high territory. In the first trading session on Tuesday (31/10) the benchmark Jakarta Composite Index climbed 0.57 percent to 6,008.14 points, just short of the all-time record high of 6,025.43 points that was touched last week. The consumer goods index, particularly, is supporting the rise of the overall index.

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The US dollar is advancing on Thursday (28/09) amid strong US dollar demand on the back of US President Donald Trump's tax reform program announcement and looming further monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve before the year-end. Rising US treasury yields naturally cause US dollar strength, hence leading to weakening emerging market currencies, with especially the Indonesian rupiah being affected significantly today.

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Indonesian President Joko Widodo said market participants should reduce their focus on the US dollar as benchmark for Indonesia's rupiah currency. Instead of the US dollar, it is better to use China's renminbi, the European Union's euro, or Japan's yen as a benchmark for the rupiah as these rates better reflect the fundamentals of Southeast Asia's largest economy. The rupiah has come under pressure against the US dollar after Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 US presidential election.

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Donald Trump becoming next US president in January 2017 will not affect foreign direct investment (FDI) in Indonesia according to the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM). Trump's election caused a huge wave of uncertainty in financial markets worldwide. However, the BKPM remains committed to its investment realization targets (including both domestic and foreign direct investment) of IDR 594.8 trillion (approx. USD $44.7 billion) in 2016 and IDR 631.5 trillion (approx. USD $47.5 billion) in 2017.

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Indonesia's benchmark Jakarta Composite Index experienced another tough day on Monday (14/11). After Indonesian stocks plunged 4.01 percent on Friday, stocks fell another 2.2 percent today. Not only Indonesia, but most Asian markets are hit by the selloff, particularly the emerging markets of Southeast Asia. Investors are re-evaluating their emerging market assets now Donald Trump has been elected the next US president (and who can rely on a Republican-controlled US Congress). To make matters worse, current uncertainty is expected to persist in the next couple of months.

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On Tuesday 8 November the people of the world's largest economy will vote for their next president. According to the latest polls the race between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump is too close to call. This is the reason why we saw the global selloff last week: markets had already priced in a Clinton victory (who was leading the polls earlier) but when polls started to suggest a rather tight battle, many investors turned to safe haven assets. In the coming days investors will remain focused on the US presidential election.

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Asian stocks, including Indonesia's benchmark Jakarta Composite Index, continue their persistent slide on Friday (04/11) ahead of the US presidential election on Tuesday 8 November 2016. By 10:45 am local Jakarta time, Indonesian stocks were down 0.29 percent to 5,314.00 points, while the rupiah had depreciated 0.14 percent to IDR 13,093 per US dollar (Bloomberg Dollar Index). Besides the too-close-to-call US election, investors are also keeping an eye on the mass demonstration in Jakarta today.

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Indonesian assets were the worst performers in Asia on Thursday's trading day (03/11). Indonesia's benchmark Jakarta Composite Index (IHSG) fell 1.41 percent to 5,329.50 points, the largest single-day drop in the past two months. The performance of Indonesia was in line with the regional (and global) trend. Over the past couple of days a worldwide selloff occurred as polls indicate that the US presidential race between Hillary Clinton (Democrats) and Donald Trump (Republicans) is tighter than initially assumed.

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