KUALA LUMPUR (May 22): The FBM KLCI rose 6.67 points or 0.4% to its intraday high in the final trading minutes on late buying of index-linked Petronas Gas Bhd shares amid higher crude oil prices.

At 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,774.95 points. Petronas Gas shares climbed 80 sen to RM19.80 to become Bursa Malaysia's second-largest gainer.

Bursa Malaysia saw 4.1 billion shares valued at RM2.95 billion traded. There were 542 gainers and 420 decliners.

"There was a last-minute push-up in Petronas Gas, but otherwise the market remained flattish," Etiqa Insurance and Takaful research head Chris Eng told theedgemarkets.com.

Malaysian shares also tracked Asian equity gains. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.86% while Japan's Nikkei 225 added 0.45%

Areca Capital Sdn Bhd CEO Danny Wong said: "Regional markets were also positive after US stocks recovered on Friday."

Reuters reported that Asian stocks posted their biggest daily rise of the month following slight gains in US shares as oil continued to rise on reports that the OPEC-led supply cut may be extended into 2018 and deepened to prop up prices.

Brent crude futures were up 32 US cents, or 0.6%, from their last close at US$53.93 per barrel at 0643 GMT.