Tuesday 11 / March / 2025
Muscat: The benchmark index of the Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX) rose last week by 28 points and closed at 4,849 points, up for the second week in a row amid a positive atmosphere, at a time when the stock exchange is preparing to list Abraaj Energy Services Company after closing its subscription earlier this month.
The annual general assemblies and dividend distributions that the public shareholding companies listed on the Muscat Stock Exchange began distributing to investors contributed to supporting the positive atmosphere witnessed by the stock exchange two weeks ago.
The brokerage firms accredited to the Muscat Stock Exchange started last Thursday by entering buy and sell orders on the shares of Abraaj Energy, provided that trading in them begins after the company is officially listed on the Muscat Stock Exchange on Tuesday.
This week, six companies approved the dividends announced by public shareholding companies during the past weeks. Most notably Shell Oman Marketing intends to distribute cash dividends of 57 per cent, or 57 baisas per share, Ooredoo, to distribute cash dividends of 20 per cent, and International Hotel Management will distribute cash dividends of 20 per cent as well.
The atmosphere of optimism witnessed by the stock exchange contributed to the rise in the industrial sector index by 137 points, the service sector index rose 8 points, the Sharia index recorded an increase of about 4 points, while the financial sector index fell 3 points and closed at 4849 points.
The market value of the securities listed on the stock exchange last week recorded weekly gains estimated at OMR40 million, to rise at the end of Thursday’s trading to OMR23.77 billion.
Last week, the trading value rose to OMR18.5 million, compared to about OMR15 million in the previous week, recording an increase of 23.4 per cent. However, the number of deals executed declined by 4 per cent, bringing the number of deals executed down to 1,934 deals compared to 2,025 deals in the previous week.
This decline came amid investors' appetite for shares of companies with a high market value, such as Omantel, whose share closed at OMR1.10, an increase of 38 baisas from its previous close, and the share witnessed transactions worth OMR4.99 million. It includes Zain Group which is still under preparation, indicating that this delay in announcing the initial financial results will not affect the target date for holding the annual ordinary general assembly meeting before the end of this month.
The share of Bank Muscat witnessed transactions worth OMR3,766,000, and closed at the end of last Thursday’s trading at 288 baisas, down by sixty from its previous close. The evening price at the end of the weekly trading was 892 baisas, up 16 baisas from its previous close, and the three companies accounted for 57.2 per cent of the total trading value.
Last week, the prices of 33 securities increased compared to 24 securities whose prices fell, and 11 securities that maintained their previous levels. The subsidiary, which is the Al-Farabi Company for the manufacture of veterinary and agricultural medicines, leased land in the Buraimi Industrial Area to construct a pharmaceutical factory, and it was equipped with three production lines, including a capsule production line, a liquid production line, and a powder production line, noting that the factory is being prepared for operation and it is expected that the factory will start trial production in May.
SMN Power Holding rose by 26.8 per cent and closed at 104 baisas, Raysut Cement rose by 18.1 per cent to 150 baisas, the share of Oman and Emirates Investment Holding Company rose by 15.7 per cent and closed at 88 baisas, and the share of Dhofar Electricity Generation rose by 11.2 per cent and closed for 69 baisas.
The share of Muscat Thread Factories recorded the highest losses, down by 9.8 per cent and closed at 55 baisas. The share of Omani Educational and Training Investments fell by 8.3 per cent and closed at 220 baisas. The share of the building materials industry fell to 70 baisas, down by 5.4 per cent.
