Malaysian shares close flat

Malaysian shares were flat on Thursday amid weak sentiment and cautious trade, dealers said. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index lost 1.01 points to 1,218.06 on volume of 751.1 million shares worth 1.13 billion ringgit (325.13 million dollars). There were 283 gainers, 371 losers and 222 counters unchanged.
"The market was under pressure throughout the day following the pullback in US stocks overnight and weaker regional markets," a dealer told Dow Jones Newswires. "There were no catalysts from the local front, with many investors still on vacation," the dealer said, referring to a long weekend holiday just gone. On the upside, auto parts maker EPMB climbed 24.2 percent to 0.57 ringgit while plantation giant IOI Corp rose 1.3 percent to 5.37 ringgit. Among losers, OilCorp slid 28.3 percent to 0.19 ringgit as gaming giant Genting was down 1.6 percent at 7.19 ringgit.