Muscat bourse drops on selling pressure

Muscat: Shares on the Muscat bourse edged down on selling pressure towards the end of the session. The MSM30 Index closed at 5,407.74 points, down by 0.14 per cent. The MSM Sharia Index ended at 791.24 points, down by 0.01 per cent. Al Madina Takaful remained the most active in terms of volume while Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel) led in terms of turnover. Takaful Oman, up by 1.18 per cent, was the top gainer while Taageer Finance was the top loser, down by 4.35 per cent.
As many as 417 trades were executed on Sunday, generating a turnover of OMR1.53 million with 7.6 million shares changing hands. Out of 39 traded securities, five advanced, 13 declined, and 21 remained unchanged. GCC and Arab investors were net buyers for OMR235,000 while foreign investors were net sellers for OMR209,000 followed by Omani investors for OMR26,000 worth of shares.
Financial Index declined by 0.17 per cent to close at 7,971.01 points. Takaful Oman, Bank Nizwa, Muscat Finance and Bank Muscat gained 1.18 per cent, 1.10 per cent, 0.85 per cent and 0.50 per cent, respectively. Taageer Finance, United Finance, HSBC Bank, Gulf Investment Services and Al Madina Investments declined by 4.35 per cent, 2.33 per cent, 2.26 per cent, 2 per cent and 1.52 per cent, respectively.
Industrial Index was stable at 7,350.99 points, down by 0.01 per cent. Al Anwar Ceramics, up by 0.69 per cent, was the sole gainer while Oman Fisheries was the only loser, down by 0.67 per cent, respectively.
Services Index retreated 0.16 per cent to close at 2,761.44 points. Oman National Engineering, Ooredoo, Omantel and OIFC declined by 2.14 per cent, 0.79 per cent, 0.78 per cent and 0.50 per cent, respectively.