Bank Indonesia faces mounting pressure to hike after MSCI threat fuels market rout

Bank Indonesia faces mounting pressure to raise interest rates on Wednesday as economists revise their forecasts after global index provider MSCI warned it may downgrade the country's stock market from emerging-market status, setting off a selloff in stocks and the rupiah. Citibank now expects a pre-emptive 50 basis-point increase to 6.25%, abandoning its earlier call for no change. Capital Economics and Permata Bank expect a 25 basis-point hike to 6%. The central bank has held its benchmark seven-day reverse repurchase rate at 5.75% since June.