Malaysian shares rose on Tuesday to outperform other Southeast Asian markets as a slew of upbeat corporate earnings results lifted sentiment, while most currencies in the region weakened as fears of a wider Middle East conflict dampened risk appetite.
Equities in Kuala Lumpur climbed as much as 0.9%, led by a 3.3% gain in Public Bank after the lender reported a rise in its second-quarter profit, while IOI Corp advanced 1.1% on a jump in quarterly profit.
A stable government, improving economic growth and a rising currency have helped the Malaysian stock market stand out among its Southeast Asian peers grappling with political flux.
Among other stock markets in the region, India rose 0.1% while the Philippines rose 0.2%.
In currencies, the Indonesian rupiah dropped 0.5% against the U.S. dollar after Monday's 0.4% gain, and led losses in the region.
"It would be hard to pinpoint how long the Middle East tensions will last as Iran and their Axis of Resistance allies are still planning for the retaliation attack on Israel," said Poon Panichpibool, markets strategist at Krung Thai Bank.
Among other currencies, the Philippine peso and the Taiwanese dollar weakened 0.4% each, while Thailand's baht slipped 0.2%.
Oil prices traded in a range on Tuesday after a surge of more than 7% in the last three sessions on supply concerns.
Higher oil prices may not bode well for sentiment towards the currencies of certain oil importing emerging economies such as the peso, rupiah and baht, analysts at Maybank said in a note.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** Malaysia charges ex-PM Muhyiddin with sedition over alleged remarks on royalty, lawyer says
** Japan to monitor impact of expected US rate cut, finance minister says
** Top US general says risk of broader war eases a bit after Israel-Hezbollah exchange - Reuters
