KUALA LUMPUR (July 25): The FBM KLCI rose 1.35 points or 0.1% as higher crude oil prices supported Malaysian shares.

Crude oil prices rose after OPEC member Saudi Arabia pledged to limit exports starting next month.

At 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,763.34 points. KLCI-linked Petronas Dagangan Bhd added 14 sen to RM23.84 to become Bursa Malaysia's eighth-largest gainer.

Hengyuan Refining Co Bhd climbed 24 sen to RM6.14 while Petron Malaysia Refining & Marketing Bhd was 15 sen higher at RM8.35. Hengyuan and Petron were Bursa Malaysia's fourth and sixth largest gainers respectively.

Bursa Malaysia saw 1.68 billion shares worth RM1.63 billion traded. There were 295 gainers and 493 decliners.

Reuters reported that in a meeting in St Petersburg on Monday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC producers discussed extending their deal to cut output by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) beyond March 2018 if necessary.

It was reported that Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said his country would limit its crude exports to 6.6 million bpd in August, almost one million bpd below the levels of a year ago. It was reported that global benchmark Brent crude for September delivery was up 22 cents, or 0,5 percent, at US$48.82 a barrel by 0705 GMT after settling up 1.1 percent in the previous session.

In Malaysia, FXTM research analyst Lukman Otunuga wrote in a note today : "While this was not expected to be the outcome to the meeting in Saint Petersburg, the unexpected outcome would have likely encouraged the material bounce higher in price that oil producers are looking to eventually achieve.  

"The OPEC meeting in St Petersburg was simply a renewal of commitment by OPEC and non-OPEC members to respect their current production cut deal."

TA Securities Holdings Bhd senior technical analyst Stephen Soo told theedgemarkets.com that the KLCI lacked buying momentum. Soo said the index was rather flat due to mild bargain hunting by local funds.
 
“Despite the rise in the past two days, the buying momentum is still lacking. Volume is pretty low which reflects investors' cautiousness.

“In the next two days, investors are still on the sidelines to watch out for FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) announcements about the US Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates,” Soo said.