Kuala Lumpur, Feb 28, 2026, 16:02 MYT — Market closed.
Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI fell 1.4% on Friday to 1,716.61, with Press Metal Aluminium and Petronas Chemicals among the heaviest drags and decliners outnumbering gainers 842 to 375. Sime Darby and Tenaga Nasional rose, but the ringgit still ended at 3.8902 per U.S. dollar. 1
For the week, the FBM KLCI ended down 36.22 points — about 2.1% — from 1,752.83, and the financial services index dropped 533.87 points, as trading picked up to 13.62 billion shares worth RM18.00 billion. Rakuten Trade’s Thong Pak Leng said the market is in a “consolidation phase” and sees the index moving between 1,710 and 1,740 next week, with the March 5 Bank Negara Malaysia decision in focus and the overnight policy rate (OPR), its benchmark rate, expected to stay at 2.75%. Mohd Sedek Jantan, director at the Islamic Portfolio and Planning Financial Association (IPPFA), said volatility should “moderate” as earnings season moves past its peak, leaving room for selective buying in large-cap banks. 2
CIMB Treasury and Markets Research also expects BNM to hold the OPR at 2.75% on March 5, flagging renewed uncertainty around U.S. tariff policy. In a note, it kept its 2026 GDP growth forecast at 4.5% and said January headline inflation held at 1.6% while core inflation — which strips out some volatile items — stayed at 2.3%. 3
The risk tone was not just domestic. Global stocks edged lower on Friday as investors weighed fresh worries about AI-driven disruption in tech, even after Nvidia’s results, while oil prices rose on concerns over supply disruption linked to U.S.-Iran tensions, a Reuters report showed. 4
On the ground in Kuala Lumpur, earnings-linked moves were sharp. MBSB’s share price “plunged nearly six per cent” to 71.5 sen after its fourth-quarter net profit fell to a two-decade low on hefty credit losses, a market report carried by NST said. 5
Healthcare also delivered a big set of numbers late Friday. IHH Healthcare reported a 27.9% drop in fourth-quarter net profit to RM528 million, mainly due to foreign exchange paper losses from a stronger ringgit, and declared a 5.5 sen final dividend; CEO Dr Prem Kumar Nair said the group is “doubling down on people development and technology-powered productivity”. IHH shares still closed up 1.1% at RM9.12. 6
In utilities, Tenaga Nasional announced Datuk Shamsul Ahmad as its new president and CEO from March 1, saying the move “will ensure continuity” as it pushes its plans; the stock was up about 1% by the noon break on Friday, according to The Edge. 7
Traders also have a live deal to price. Sunway Healthcare Holdings, the healthcare arm of Sunway, is raising up to RM2.86 billion in what The Edge called Malaysia’s biggest IPO in nine years; retail applications close on March 5 and the institutional offer ends March 6, ahead of a March 18 listing. The deal’s valuation puts it at a higher earnings multiple than peers IHH and KPJ, and the book includes 20 cornerstone investors — big funds that pre-commit to buying a chunk of shares before listing. 8
Still, a clean “week ahead” read is tricky. Global investors are heading into U.S. jobs data, China’s policy meetings and swings in oil, and any fresh risk-off move could hit regional equities and currencies, including Malaysia’s export-heavy names and rate-sensitive banks. 9
The next hard date on many screens is the U.S. Employment Situation report for February, due on March 6 at 8:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern time, which can reset bets on U.S. rates and ripple through Asian markets when Bursa Malaysia reopens. 10
