REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI) or IDX is optimistic that the Combined Share Price Index (IHSG) will be able to set a new record high in 2024. IHSG briefly hit an all-time high in 2022 at 7,300.
“We at the IDX never do IHSG projections in detail. But if we look at the existing conditions, the record that was reached at the 7,300 level, we are optimistic that it can be passed by 2024,” said Verdi Ikhwan, Head of Research Division of the BEI, on Wednesday (13/12/2023).
Verdi admits that index movements have been quite depressed lately. After hitting a new record high in 2022, the index is now likely to move flat or flat around the 7,000 level. According to Verdi, market participants and investors have recently refrained from entering the stock market as they await various important momentum, from the development of interest rate policy to the holding of elections.
On a year-to-date (ytd) basis, IHSG was only able to post growth of 3.45 percent. In mid-November, IHSG even briefly fell into the 6,500 range before rebounding to 7,100 in early December.
Nevertheless, IHSG's performance is still better than the majority of exchanges in regional countries. He mentioned Thailand which has until recently posted an index decline of up to more than 17 per cent.
“Indonesia is one of the global exchanges experiencing growth,” Verdi said.
From the sector side, Verdi sees the banking and property sectors will be quite attractive in the year ahead. That projection takes into account factors the U.S. central bank won't aggressively raise interest rates. “If there is a decrease in interest rates, the sector that will benefit will be linked to banking because the distribution of credit will increase. The property sector is also picking up as home sales are picking up,” Verdi said.