Malaysia's blue chip share index rose 0.13 percent on Wednesday but the focus was on a disappointing debut by Malaysia's biggest IPO this year, KLCC Property Holdings Bhd.
The property arm of state oil firm Petronas, and owner of Kuala Lumpur's landmark twin towers, was expected to post modest gains on its market debut but instead fell 6.1 percent from the institutional float price to 1.69 ringgit amid wariness about its future earnings growth.
"It was a very poor performance," said Avenue Securities property analyst Chan Ken Yew, although he said he was keeping a one-year price target of 1.90 ringgit on the firm on expectations it would meet its target of 12 percent earnings rise this financial year.
At the close, the key Kuala Lumpur Composite Index was up 1.05 points at 809.56 points. Overall volume was a thin 288 million shares worth 524 million ringgit ($137 million). Losing stocks beat gainers two to one.
KLCC Property was the most active stock, with 42 million shares worth 72.5 million ringgit changing hands.
Markets in the region were mixed as the impact of high energy costs on corporate earnings kept investors on edge.
Among Kuala Lumpur's heavyweights, shipper MISC rose 0.83 percent to 12.10 ringgit while Petronas Gas gained 2.2 percent at 6.90 ringgit.
Plantations and property group IOI Corp Bhd rose 3.2 percent to eight ringgit, recovering from a fall on Tuesday that had followed a 53 percent jump in quarterly earnings reported on Monday.