KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 4): Petron Malaysia Refining & Marketing Bhd rose as much as 31 sen or 3%, possibly on expectation of higher crude oil prices and after analysts said the company's shares showed positive technical signs.

Petron shares rose to their highest so far today at RM9.80. At 3:03pm, the counter pared gains at RM9.72, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM2.62 billion. Petron was Bursa Malaysia's second-largest gainer.

Petron may be seen as a proxy to crude oil prices, hence expectation of higher prices for the commodity could have influenced Petron's share-trade dynamics.

Reuters quoted crude oil traders as saying today prices were being pulled down by rising output, although strong demand prevented bigger drops.

"Developments this week have seen some pessimism return to markets. We forecast Brent to trade at around US$53 per barrel in 4Q2017," National Australia Bank said in its August outlook.

It was reported that Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at US$51.93 a barrel, down 8 US cents, or 0.15%, from their last close and around 70 US cents for the week.

In Malaysia, RHB Research Institute Sdn Bhd technical analyst Lew Chee Hao said in a note today Petron shares closed at a 52-week high yesterday, "thereby enhancing the bullish sentiment" of the stock.

"A bullish bias may appear above the RM9.00 level, with an exit set below the RM8.20 threshold.

"Towards the upside, the immediate resistance point is anticipated at the RM10.00 level. This is followed by the RM12.00 threshold," Lew said.