Oman shares fall on weak investor sentiment

Business Monday 31/July/2017 17:19 PM
By: Times News Service
Oman shares fall on weak investor sentiment

Muscat: Shares on the Muscat Securities Market (MSM) declined on weak investor sentiment.
The MSM stocks witnessed profit booking after 5 days of continuous gains, and the benchmark index declined by 0.78 per cent to 5024.24 points. The MSM Sharia Index also declined by 0.90 per cent to close at 741.36 points. Al Madina Investment was the leader in terms of volume while Omantel was most active in terms of turnover. National Gas, which closed higher by 1.33 per cent, was the top gainer while the top loser Raysut Cement lost 6.64 per cent from Sunday's close.
During the session, a total of 741 trades were executed, generating turnover of OMR3 million with more than 11.4 million shares changing hands. Out of 31 traded securities, 4 advanced, 16 declined, and 11 remained unchanged. Foreign Investors were net buyers for OMR467,000 worth of shares followed by Omanis for OMR77,000 while GCC and Arab Investors were net sellers for OMR544,000 worth of shares.
Financial index declined by 0.59 per cent on Monday and closed at 7529.59 points. Bank Muscat was the only gainer from the financial sector, and closed higher by 0.54 per cent at OMR0.374. Prices of National bank of Oman, Sharqiya Investments, Muscat Finance, Al Madina Investment, and Al Anwar Holding declined by 2.36 per cent, 1.89 per cent, 1.69 per cent, 1.49 per cent, and 1.38 per cent respectively.
Industrial Index closed at 6792.69 points with a decline of 0.70 per cent. Al Jazeera Steel, which closed at OMR0.244, was the only gainer from the sector. Raysut Cement, and Oman Fisheries declined by 6.64 per cent, and 0.78 per cent respectively.
Services Sector Index also declined 0.21 per cent before closing at 2502.34 points. National Gas and Phoenix Power went up by 1.33 per cent and 0.85 per cent respectively. Ooredoo, Oman National Engineering, Port Services, and Omantel declined by 2.27 per cent, 1.92 per cent, 1.47 per cent, and 0.44 per cent respectively.