Malaysian shares closed flat on Monday due to profit-taking in selected blue chips, dealers said. Dealers said retail investors plowed fresh funds into lower liners and penny-stocks to lift the bourse. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index was 0.03 points higher at 941.41.
Volume was 1.12 billion shares worth 983.96 million ringgit (273 million dollars) while advancers led decliners 428 to 172. Among gainers, Proton added 13.1 percent to 2.25 ringgit, Public Bank gained 1.9 percent to 8.25 and Sapuracrest Petroleum rose 10.8 percent to 1.03. On the downside, Genting fell 4.5 percent to 4.28 ringgit, Axiata lost 3.2 percent to 1.81 and Sime Darby fell 1.5 percent to 6.40.