Malaysian shares end flat

Malaysian shares were flat on Tuesday due to mild profit-taking, dealers said. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 0.53 points, or 0.05 percent, to close at 1,066.36 with a volume of 586.24 million shares worth 752.77 million ringgit (212.56 million dollars). There were 281 gainers, 241 losers and 218 traded unchanged.
"Generally, investors stayed on the sidelines in the absence of any leads and opted to take profit on any rallies," a dealer told Dow Jones Newswires. "Mild buying interest in banks, select heavyweights and some blue chips by local funds helped to reverse earlier losses," the dealer said.
Among gainers, communications satellite company Measat rose 6.9 percent to 1.85 ringgit while Public Bank climbed 1.1 percent to 9.20 ringgit. On the downside, Berjaya Sports Toto slid 1.4 percent to 4.98 ringgit as Bumiputra-Commerce fell 2.6 percent to 9.25 ringgit.