Hold off on buying Indonesia stocks for now

More rate hikes: A file picture showing a teller counting rupiah notes at a money changer in Jakarta. There is the potential of further interest rate hikes to put a floor under the currency, which has hit its weakest against the dollar since 1998. — Reuters

DUBAI: Indonesia’s key stock index may be down 15% from its February peak but it isn’t time to get back into equities in South-East Asia’s biggest economy, Morgan Stanley analysts Sean Gardiner and Aarti Shah opined.

Aberdeen Standard Investments investment director Bharat Joshi said the rupiah’s weakness may keep investors away as emerging-market turmoil deepens.