07/12/2012 (Bernama) - Bursa Malaysia ended on mixed note today in cautious trading in tandem with its regional peers, dealers said.

The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 2.44 points to close at 1,616.23. The index moved between 1,614.71 and 1,620.05 after opening at 1,614.71.

Affin Investment Bank head of retail research, Dr Nazri Khan, said ahead of year-end window-dressing, investors focused on defensive stocks like Nestle and British American Tobacco (BAT), which were among the top gainers today.

Nestle rose 90 sen to RM63.88 and BAT jumped 70 sen to RM58.40.

However, losses in plantation counters like Far East Holdings, Sungei Bagan Rubber and Tradewinds Plantation due to the poor outlook on the rubber and crude palm oil sectors for next year, had mitigated the market's gains.

Far East fell 50 sen to RM6.80, Sungei Bagan Rubber lost 24 sen to RM2.80 and Tradewinds Plantation slipped 15 sen to RM4.06.

Regionally, Nazri told Bernama, investor interest was partly being spurred by comments from US President Barack Obama that a deal to avert US fiscal cliff was likely soon.

Meanwhile, overnight Wall Street closed mixed, prompted by positive progress on negotiations for the fiscal cliff resolution.

Meanwhile, in a statement today, Bursa Malaysia said it has issued an unusual market activity query to Takaso Resources Bhd.

Takaso rose 21.5 sen, or 84.314 per cent, to close at 47 sen today.

Losers led gainers by 365 to 282, while 341 counters were unchanged, 644 untraded and 18 others suspended.

Volume rose to 881.16 million shares worth RM1.25 billion from 829.13 million shares worth RM1.19 billion yesterday.

The Finance Index surged 16.96 points to 15,048.52.

The Industrial Index fell 5.37 points to 2,666.33 and the Plantation Index declined 46.49 points to 7,851.99.

The FBM Ace Index inched down 6.13 points to 4,168.55 and the FBM Mid 70 Index dipped 39.50 points to 12,016.64.

The FBM Emas Index rose 4.67 points to 10,997.64 and the FBMT100 increased 6.479 points to 10,852.17.

Among actives, Astral Supreme inched down 3.5 sen to 22.5 sen, Ingenuity Consolidated and Integrated Rubber earned a sen each to 9.5 sen and 14 sen, respectively while Fast Track Solution was flat at 12 sen.

Of the heavyweights, Maybank rose two sen to RM9.09, CIMB and Axiata added a sen each to RM7.55 and RM5.97, respectively while Sime Darby eased a sen to RM8.95.

Volume on the Main Market rose to 712.60 million units valued at RM1.23 billion from 654.49 million units valued at RM1.17 billion on Wednesday.

Turnover on the ACE market advanced 140.04 million shares worth RM18.95 million from 126.13 million shares worth RM20.23 million yesterday.

Warrants declined to 25.572 million units valued at RM1.76 from 44.99 million units valued at RM2.66 million previously.

Consumer products accounted for 178.263 million shares on the Main Market, industrial products 180.283 million, construction 25.464 million, trade and services 187.352 million, technology 32.282 million, infrastructure 12.462 million, finance 33.97 million, hotels 325,600, properties 37.438 million, plantations 14.97 million, mining 30,000, REITs 9.73 million and closed/fund 15,000.