Malaysian stocks outperform on earnings cheer; Asian currencies drop

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.