Indonesian shares closed down 1.9 percent on Thursday, with commodity-related stocks leading the plunge on the back of lower oil prices, dealers said. The Jakarta Composite Index closed 41 points in the red at 2,075 in moderate volume. Decliners outnumbered gainers 129 to 54.
"There are fears that oil prices will continue to fall due to a weak global economy, which in the end will drag down commodity prices further," a trader told Dow Jones Newswires. Traders also attributed the selling to Bank Indonesia's hike in its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 9.25 percent, increasing the debt burden on many companies. Coal miner Bumi Resources fell 3.7 percent to 4,625 rupiah, rival Bukit Asam shed 5.4 percent to 12,200 and nickel miner Aneka Tambang slumped 5.3 percent to 1,610.