Jakarta, May 21 -- Indonesia's benchmark stock index suffered a sharp sell-off on Thursday, dragged down by heavy losses in the materials and energy sectors.

The Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) closed down 223.56 points, or 3.54 percent, at 6.094.94. Meanwhile, the blue-chip LQ45 index fell 14.28 points, or 2.26 percent, to settle at 616.40.

Market sentiment turned sharply bearish following details of an upcoming government regulation regarding natural resource export management, an analyst said.

The policy will appoint state-owned enterprises (SOEs) as sole exporters for key commodities, including crude palm oil (CPO), coal, and ferroalloys.

"The primary driver behind the JCI's decline is the planned centralization of commodity exports...