Omani stock market closes weekly trading with positive performance

Muscat: The Omani stock market's Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX) 30 index closed the week with a positive performance, gaining 1.77 percent.

“This marked the second consecutive week of increases for the index, partially correcting the sell-off experienced during the second half of October,” according to an analyst.

“Despite this recent improvement, the outlook remains uncertain while the market could be exposed to price corrections if traders move to secure their gains in particular after this week’s strong gains,” said George Pavel, General Manager at Capex.com Middle East, said.

However, changing expectations regarding monetary policy in the US could help improve sentiment. The Federal Reserve could lean toward a softer stance after US inflation data came up lower than expected, he added. “As a result, interest rate cuts could be closer than previously thought and could help reduce pressure on the economy in Oman and boost the appetite for risks among local and international investors,” George Pavel said At the same time, some uncertainty could remain as new data is released ahead of the December policy meeting.

Oil markets could also remain a source of risks for the Omani stock market. Crude prices have been declining since the end of September and are not showing signs of a slowdown. “Concerns about global demand could continue to weigh on energy prices while geopolitical risks in the Middle East, which initially created concerns about supply, remain contained,” he added.

The market's three key sectors recorded mixed performances. The financial sector led gains in the market with a 1.56 percent increase, extending profits for a second week in a row, and was spearheaded by Bank Muscat. The latter gained 7.51 percent along with Ominvest with 7.50 percent. Banks like Bank Dhofar and Sohar International Bank recorded losses while Al Madina Investment Holding saw the best performance on the market this week.

The services sector rebounded after four successive weeks of losses and climbed by 0.61 percent. The sector recorded a strong performance from Oman Education & Training Investments which gained 26.48 percent, followed by Renaissance Services which jumped 7.22 percent. Oman Telecom, which saw improving revenue and profits in the third quarter of this year, recorded gains along with OQ and Abraj helping drive the sector to the upside.

Conversely, the industrial sector experienced a decline of 0.65 percent and continued its multi-week slide. Compared to the previous week, trading volume increased more than 836 percent. Trading in Bank Muscat shares dominated the market and accounted for more than 91 percent of the value traded and more than 87 percent of the volume traded on the Omani stock market this week