Kuala Lumpur, Feb 28, 2026, 16:02 MYT — The market has closed.
The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI dropped 1.4% to close at 1,716.61 on Friday, weighed down by losses in Press Metal Aluminium and Petronas Chemicals. Decliners dominated the board, beating out gainers 842 to 375. Sime Darby and Tenaga Nasional managed to notch gains, but the ringgit still finished at 3.8902 against the U.S. dollar.
FBM KLCI closed the week off 36.22 points, down roughly 2.1% from 1,752.83. The financial services index shed 533.87 points. Trading activity ticked up, with 13.62 billion shares changing hands for a total value of RM18.00 billion. Rakuten Trade’s Thong Pak Leng called the market a “consolidation phase,” pointing to a likely range between 1,710 and 1,740 for the index next week. He flagged the March 5 Bank Negara Malaysia meeting as one to watch; consensus points to the OPR staying put at 2.75%. Mohd Sedek Jantan, director at Islamic Portfolio and Planning Financial Association (IPPFA), expects volatility to “moderate” as the earnings season fades, potentially opening up opportunities in large-cap banks. BERNAMA
CIMB Treasury and Markets Research is sticking with its call for BNM to keep the OPR steady at 2.75% on March 5, pointing to fresh uncertainty over U.S. tariff policy. The team left its 2026 GDP growth projection at 4.5% and noted January’s headline inflation held at 1.6%. Core inflation, which excludes certain volatile components, was unchanged at 2.3%.
It wasn’t just a local story. Global stocks slipped Friday, as investors took in new jitters around AI-fueled shakeups in tech—even after Nvidia’s earnings landed. Oil climbed, reflecting fresh supply fears tied to U.S.-Iran tensions, according to Reuters.
Earnings shook things up in Kuala Lumpur. MBSB shares “plunged nearly six per cent” to 71.5 sen after the lender’s fourth-quarter net profit slumped to its lowest in twenty years, hurt by heavy credit losses, according to a market report from NST. KLSE Screener
Healthcare earnings hit after hours Friday, with IHH Healthcare posting a 27.9% slide in fourth-quarter net profit to RM528 million. The culprit: foreign exchange paper losses tied to the ringgit’s strength. The board is still handing out a 5.5 sen final dividend. “Doubling down on people development and technology-powered productivity,” CEO Dr Prem Kumar Nair said. Shares of IHH, though, managed to finish 1.1% higher at RM9.12. The Edge Malaysia
Tenaga Nasional named Datuk Shamsul Ahmad as its next president and CEO, effective March 1, with the company saying the appointment “will ensure continuity” as it advances its strategy. Shares rose roughly 1% by midday Friday, The Edge reported. The Edge Malaysia
There’s also Sunway Healthcare Holdings in the mix. The Sunway unit is looking to raise as much as RM2.86 billion in what The Edge is calling Malaysia’s largest IPO since 2015. For retail buyers, applications are open until March 5, with institutional orders wrapping up March 6. The listing is set for March 18. The IPO comes with a richer earnings multiple than rivals IHH and KPJ, and its book features 20 cornerstone investors — institutions that are locking in allocations before shares start trading.
Even so, getting a clear read on the “week ahead” isn’t straightforward. With U.S. jobs numbers coming up, China’s policy meetings in focus, and oil prices in flux, global investors can’t ignore the potential for new risk-off flows. That could quickly weigh on regional assets, from Malaysia’s exporters to its more rate-sensitive banks. Reuters
For now, traders are watching the U.S. Employment Situation report for February—set for release at 8:30 a.m. Eastern on March 6. That data has the power to shake up expectations for U.S. rates and could move Asian markets once Bursa Malaysia opens its doors.
