Oman shares fall on weak investor sentiments

Muscat: Weakness in index large capitalised shares continued to drag down the MSM30 Index, which closed at 4,912.57 points, down 0.53 per cent. MSM Sharia Index ended at 727.05 points, down 0.19 per cent. Due to a special deal, Omantel was the most active in terms of volume and turnover. Galfar Engineering, up 1.43 per cent was the top gainer while Renaissance Services was the top gainer, down 2.30 per cent.
A total number of 310 trades were executed on Wednesday, generating a turnover of OMR2.16 million with 6.04 million shares changing hands. Out of 32 traded securities, 7 advanced, 10 declined and 15 remained unchanged. Omani Investors remained net buyers for OMR1.57 million while Foreign Investors were net sellers for OMR1.45 million followed by GCC & Arab Investors for OMR120,000 worth of shares.
Financial Index ended negatively at 7,350.73 points, down 0.39 per cent. Al Anwar Holding and NBO gained 0.71 per cent and 0.48 per cent respectively. Bank Dhofar, Al Sharqia Investments, HSBC Bank and Bank Muscat decreased 2.27 per cent, 1.00 per cent, 0.88 per cent and 0.54 per cent respectively.
Industrial Index advanced 0.07 per cent to end at 6,646.20 points. Galfar Engineering and Al Anwar Ceramics gained 1.43 per cent and 0.81 per cent respectively. Gulf International Chemicals, down 0.49 per cent, was the sole sector loser.
Services Index closed at 2,410.96 points, down 0.56 per cent. Al Jazeera Services, OIFC and National Gas gained 1.40 per cent, 0.65 per cent and 0.38 per cent respectively. Renaissance Services, Phoenix Power, Ooredoo and Omantel retreated 2.30 per cent, 1.71 per cent, 1.39 per cent and 0.94 per cent respectively.