Malaysian shares were flat Tuesday, with finance and selected blue chips giving a slight lift, dealers said. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index edged up 0.56 points, or 0.05 percent, to close at 1,242.32. Losers outpaced gainers 389 to 261.
"Strong economic data from the US overnight helped to drive buying interest in early trade but intermittent profit-taking capped gains," a dealer told Dow Jones Newswires. An analyst however said the market will remain volatile as the key index is in an overbought condition. "There will still be inherent volatility and we only advocate a trading buy stance," Lee Cheng Hooi from Maybank Investment Bank said. Among major stocks, leading bank CIMB added 0.30 percent to 12.56 ringgit and AMMB was up 0.90 percent to 4.68, while gaming group Genting lost 1.40 percent to 7.05.