Brent crude rose 0.4 per cent to US$66.39 on Monday after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other top producing nations led by Russia agreed this month to extend and deepen output cuts in the first quarter of 2020.Index heavyweight Santos advanced as much as 0.6 per cent while Woodside Petroleum marked its best session in more than a week after rising nearly 2 per cent.
Western Australia-based Bellevue Gold Ltd rose as much as nearly 5 per cent to a near one-month peak, while West African Resources, which has operations in Burkina Faso, ascended nearly 4 per cent. Meanwhile, financial stocks, the heaviest section of the Australian benchmark, declined as much as 0.4 per cent to their lowest in nearly two weeks.
The technology sub-index slipped about 0.2 per cent, dragged lower by software makers Xero Ltd and Bravura Solutions , which shed as much as 2 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively.