Oman's stock market starts year with robust performance

Muscat: Oman's stock market started the year with a robust performance and saw its main index rise 2.04 percent, reverting some of the losses recorded during the last few weeks, according to an analyst.

“The rebound of the stock market this week was fuelled by an increase in trading volumes and value. Both have been recovering during the last three weeks after a significant decline in December,” said Hani Abuagla, Senior Market Analyst at XTB.

Trading volumes surged by over 60 percent while the value traded expanded by 77 percent, compared to the preceding week, he added.

At the sector level, financial stocks led the gains with a 2.35 percent increase, snapping the series of losses seen during last month. Bank Muscat, the most traded stock in the sector, was up by 0.75 percent, while Sohar International Bank rose by 2.02 percent, and Omnivest by 9.30 percent, was the best-performing stock in the sector.

The services sector was the second-best performer, with a 1.82 percent increase. Among the stocks in this sector, Renaissance Services recorded one of the strongest increases with a 6.38 percent performance along with Phoenix Power with a 7.55 percent gain. At the same time, Abraj climbed 0.67 percent while Ooredoo slid 3.36 percent. The Industrial sector, contrary to other sectors, dipped by 0.39 percent, with stocks like AlMaha Ceramics declining by 7.50 percent, Oman Cable Industry falling by 1.97 percent, Raysut Cement by 1.60 percent, and Galfar Engineering and Contracting also experiencing declines.

The market could continue to see some risks from the geopolitical tensions in the region, said Hani Abuagla. “The latter could affect the attractiveness of the Omani stock market as international investors could remain cautious. Energy markets have also been impacted by the tensions in the region and their volatility could remain a source of concern,” he added.

At the same time, the continuing expectations of an early start in interest cuts could bolster confidence among investors and could help the main index recover although those expectations have been dampened to a certain extent lately. “Other markets in the region like the Saudi Tadawul saw a similar rebound to Oman’s although volatility was strong this week. Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) stock markets could also continue to face the same risks as their Omani counterpart,” said Hani Abuagla.