KUALA LUMPUR - 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 per cent, to close at 1,066.36 with a volume of 586.24 million shares worth RM752.77 million (S$310.07 million).

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 per cent to RM1.85 while Public Bank climbed 1.1 per cent to RM9.20.

On the downside, Berjaya Sports Toto slid 1.4 per cent to RM4.98 as Bumiputra-Commerce fell 2.6 per cent to RM 9.25.