Happy New Year 2026! (but it’s to late already Febuary now) Remember those cute resolutions you made three weeks ago? “I will invest more,” you said. “I will achieve financial freedom,” you whispered to your mirror.
Well, the Indonesian economy heard you, laughed, and decided to throw a brick at your portfolio.
We are barely out of January, and we have already experienced a lifetime’s worth of financial trauma. The IHSG (JCI) fainted twice—literally passed out—and Gold prices are moving like they are on a sugar rush.
Welcome to the “Indonesia 2026 Crisis Edition.” Grab your popcorn (because you can’t afford steak anymore), and let’s review the chaos.
1. The IHSG “Double Homicide”
Let’s talk about the Trading Halts. For those who don’t speak “Finance Bro,” a trading halt is when the stock market drops so fast that the authorities literally pull the plug to stop everyone from crying at the same time. It’s the financial equivalent of a referee stopping a boxing match because one guy is already in a coma.
And it happened twice. Back-to-back. January 28 and 29.
The IHSG dropped 8% faster than my mood on a Monday morning. The screens were so red it looked like a Valentine’s Day decoration gone wrong.
- The Culprit: Rumor has it, MSCI (the global index popularity contest) decided to “ghost” Indonesia due to transparency issues.
- The Result: Foreign investors ran away faster than a cheating boyfriend caught on 4K CCTV.
If you opened your stock portfolio app during those two days, I am sorry. I hope your phone screen is waterproof because the tears were real.
2. Antam Gold: The Toxic Relationship
Usually, when stocks crash, Gold is the “safe haven.” It’s the nice guy. The dependable partner. But in 2026? Gold is acting like a toxic ex-lover.
First, it skyrocketed to Rp 3.1 million per gram, making everyone feel like a genius for hoarding their grandma’s jewelry. Then? It decided to skydive. It dropped Rp 260,000 in a single day.
One day you are a sultan, the next day you are calculating if you can pawn your kidney. The price chart looks less like an investment curve and more like the heart rate monitor of someone watching a horror movie. To everyone who bought at the peak (FOMO victims, raise your hands): We see you. We feel you. We are you.
3. The “Wait and See” Strategy (A.K.A “Wait and Cry”)
Suddenly, everyone on social media is an economic expert. The uncles in WhatsApp groups are forwarding messages about “Global Recession 2.0.” The Gen Z influencers are making TikToks about “How to survive a crash with Rp 50,000.”
The experts say we should adopt a “Wait and See” strategy. Let me translate that for you: It means you sit in the corner, hug your knees, and wait to see if you still have a future.
The IDX Director resigned (probably to protect his mental health), the Rupiah is doing yoga (stretching in uncomfortable positions), and we are all just sitting here wondering if instant noodles will also get a price hike.
The Verdict: We Survive (Probably)
Look, Indonesia has survived 1998, 2008, and the great “Seblak” shortage of 2018 (okay, I made that last one up). This “2026 Gonjang-Ganjing” is just another character development arc for us.
We are a resilient nation. We laugh at disasters. We make memes about our poverty. So, don’t panic. The market will recover. Gold will stabilize. And if it doesn’t? Well, at least we have plenty of company in the poorhouse.
See you at the bottom!
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