BREAKINGVIEWS — MSCI unnecessarily throws Indonesia into a panic

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.) By Hudson Lockett HONG KONG, Oct 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) — The country's shares nosedived 11% after the index provider said it might kick the $570 bln stock market from its benchmark indices. Perhaps the Southeast Asian economy merits such a downgrade. But blindsiding the bourse and others on such a major decision should be verboten. Full view will be published shortly. Follow Hudson Lockett on Bluesky and X. Context News MSCI announced on October 16 that it had proposed reclassifying Indonesia to “standalone” market status, with a final decision to be reached by the end of June 2027 after a consultation period. The downgrade would fully remove the Asian stock market from the index provider’s global equity benchmarks. The announcement, which comes a month ahead of a scheduled review, escalates a previous warning that Indonesia could be moved from Emerging to Frontier Market status if it did not make sufficient progress addressing concerns over market dysfunction and enforcement. Funds worth about $1.4 trillion follow MSCI’s Emerging Markets Index, according to the company. The Jakarta Composit