KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 15): The FBM KLCI rose 1.31 points or 0.1% after North Korea indicated it would postpone plans to launch a missile near US territory Guam. Asian shares gained after US equities rose overnight on the news.

At Bursa Malaysia, the KLCI closed at 1,772.39 points at 5pm after falling to its intraday low at 1,768.76 points. As US-North Korea geopolitical tension ebbs, analysts said investors in Malaysia had also noted Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Bhd share gains.

“Some heavyweight counters, particularly Lotte, had also lifted market sentiment,” Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd retail research head Loui Low Ley Yee told theedgemarkets.com.
 
Lotte Chemical Titan shares rose 42 sen to close at RM5.12 to become Bursa Malaysia's third-largest gainer.

Across Bursa Malaysia, gainers outpaced decliners 480 to 306 respectively.

The bourse saw a volume of 1.8 billion shares valued at RM1.795 billion traded.

Across Asian share markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 1.1% higher while Hong Kong's Hang Seng erased gains to end 0.28% lower. South Korea's Kospi was closed for the Liberation Day holiday.

Reuters reported that Asian shares rose and the dollar rallied on Tuesday after North Korea's leader signalled that he would delay plans to fire a missile near Guam, easing tensions and prompting investors to move back into beaten-down riskier assets.

It was reported that US stocks recovered further on Monday from last week's selloff, with the S&P 500 posting its biggest one-day percentage gain since April as worries eased about a conflict between the United States and North Korea.