Jakarta - The Indonesian Stock Exchange suspended trading in its morning session Friday for the second consecutive trading day amid sharp falls on global markets. The market announced on its website that "the equities and derivative trading for session I on October 10 is suspended" due to the indices' sharp declines at bourses across the world.
Erry Firmansyah, the market president, told Elshinta private radio programme that it was "impossible for us to resume trading" after Friday's plunges on Asian markets as well as steep losses on Wall Street overnight.
It was uncertain whether trading would resume for the session II on Friday afternoon, Firmansyah said.
The Indonesian stock exchange suspended trading on Wednesday after the benchmark index fell more than 10 per cent to 1,451.669, extending three-day losses to 21 per cent.
On Thursday, the government eased accounting rules on the fair value of assets, while easing reserve requirements for commercial banks and making it easier for listed firms to buy back to bolster financial markets.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono early this week expressed confidence that Indonesia, which suffered a devastating financial meltdown in the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, could overcome the global market crisis because the country has strong economic foundations.
