Muscat – As local funds and institutions continued to buy Omani stocks, the main index of the Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX) recorded a weekly gain of 1.5%, or more than 94 points, to close at 6,424.70 points.
The gains in the main index were supported by all sectoral indices, led by the financial sector index, which climbed 181 points to close at approximately 11,100 points. The industrial sector index rose 21 points, the services sector index gained 17 points, and the Sharia-compliant index increased by about 3 points to close at 592 points.
Local individual investors turned to selling during last week’s trading on the Muscat Stock Exchange to capitalise on the gains made by stocks in recent weeks. Many stocks reached record highs for the first time, driven by improvements in several local economic indicators, increased corporate profits and the injection of more liquidity into the stock market by local investment institutions.
Trading data issued by the Muscat Stock Exchange showed that sales by local individual investors rose to RO42.7mn last week, representing 19.7% of the total trading value. This compared with purchases of RO34.8mn, representing 16% of the total trading value.
Meanwhile, local investment funds and institutions increased their purchases, absorbing excess local selling and diversifying their investment portfolios.
Last week saw further gains in share prices as several companies announced their dividend recommendations. As many as 39 securities rose in price, while 36 declined and 20 remained unchanged.
The market capitalisation of the Muscat Stock Exchange rose to RO33.898bn by the end of last week’s trading, registering weekly gains of RO387.7mn. This increase was driven by rising share prices and a rise in the market capitalisation of bonds and sukuk by RO120.8mn, bringing it to RO5.258bn.
Last week, the MSX listed the 80th issue of government development bonds, valued at RO100mn with an annual interest rate of 4.05%, and the 81st issue of government development bonds, valued at RO25mn with an annual interest rate of 4.3%.
Trading value during the past week reached RO216.9mn, compared with RO235.1mn the previous week, reflecting a decrease of 7.7%. The number of executed transactions also declined by 2.5%, from 25,654 to 24,998.
