KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 9): The FBM KLCI declined 3.71 points or 0.2% as the US-North Korea geopolitical tension rattled Asian share markets.

At 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,777.94 points. Across Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.29%, South Korea's Kospi fell 1.1%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.35%.

In Malaysia, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd senior analyst Kenneth Leong told theedgemarkets.com: “Today’s weakness is mainly due to profit-taking, as well as the rising geopolitical tension recently seen between the US and North Korea, which in turn impacted investor sentiment, locally and regionally, today.”

Across Bursa Malaysia, 1.42 billion shares valued at RM1.74 billion exchanged hands. Decliners outpaced gainers at 414 against 315 respectively, as global investors followed news on the US-North Korea geopolitical tension.

Reuters reported Asian shares and U.S. stock futures slipped on Wednesday and investors sought havens such as U.S. Treasuries, gold and the yen, as tensions on the Korean peninsula escalated, with Pyongyang saying it is considering plans to attack Guam.

A spokesman for the Korean People's Army said in a statement that it was "carefully examining" plans for a missile attack on the U.S. Pacific territory, which has a large American military base. The comments came just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump told North Korea that any threat to the United States would be met with "fire and fury", rattling markets globally.