Indonesia's Stock Exchange (IHSG) Closes Higher Amidst Garuda Indonesia Merger Talks (Wednesday, August 23, 2023)

The Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) rose slightly by 4.96 points, or 0.07%, to close at 6,921.41 on Wednesday (23/8/2023).

The index's rise today occurred amidst emerging news of a merger between Garuda Indonesia, Pelita Air, and Citilink.

The Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), Erick Thohir, explained that the planned merger of the three state-owned airlines is one of the efforts to reduce logistics costs in Indonesia.

Following this news, shares of PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk or GIAA surged by 9.59%.

According to the IDX-IC Sectoral Index, eight sectoral indices increased today, led by the basic materials sector, which rose by 1.63%, followed by the transportation and logistics sector, up 0.95%, and the energy sector, up 0.51%.

Meanwhile, three sectoral indices weakened today. The infrastructure sector fell the most, at -0.30%, followed by the finance and technology sectors, which fell by -0.27% and -0.08%, respectively.

Based on RTI Business data, the frequency of stock trading on the domestic exchange today was 1.13 million transactions.

A total of 22.80 billion shares changed hands, with a transaction value of Rp10.26 trillion.

SULI was the top gainer, rising by 10.26%, followed by MUTU and GRPM, which rose by 10.07% and 9.72%, respectively.

On the other hand, the top loser today was GTRA, which fell by 14.62%, followed by TMAS and MEDS, which contracted by 10.17% and 17.50%, respectively.

The majority of stocks closed higher today. Specifically, 264 stocks rose, 257 stocks fell, and 222 stocks remained unchanged.