Saturday 26 / October / 2024
Muscat: The Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX) recorded new gains last week as the main index rose to 4,825 points, up for the third week in a row.
These gains came ahead of the listing of OQ Exploration and Production (OQEP), which is expected to enrich the stock exchange’s trading when it is listed for trading on October 28.
The main index of the Muscat Stock Exchange rose last week by 25 points, with the financial sector index recording the highest gains, up 76 points, the industrial sector index rising by 13 points, the Sharia index rising to 436 points, up by more than two points, and the services sector index recording a slight increase of less than one point.
During the week, the Muscat Stock Exchange also recorded gains in its market value, which rose by the end of Thursday’s trading to OMR24.74 billion, recording weekly gains of OMR6.4 million.
The stock market performed well with the number of shares traded increasing by 12.5 percent and the trading value increasing by 4.4 percent from OMR12 million to OMR12.5 million. However, the bonds and sukuk market witnessed a decline in trading value from OMR5.2 million to about OMR1.5 million with investors focusing on Ominvest’s mandatory convertible bonds 2024 which closed at 90 baisas after trading 15.3 million bonds worth OMR1.4 million.
OQ Gas Networks topped the most traded companies in terms of trading value, after witnessing trading worth OMR2,864,000, representing 20.3 percent of the total trading value. Bank Muscat came in second place with trading worth OMR2,223,000, and National Bank of Oman (NBO) came in third place with trading worth OMR1,534,000, representing 10.9 percent of the total trading value.
During the week, prices of 30 securities rose, while 30 other securities declined and 18 securities remained unchanged at their previous levels. The Omani Education and Training Investment Company share recorded the highest gains, rising by 9.8 percent and closing at 657 baisas. The National Industrial Detergents Company share rose by 9.2 percent and closed at 710 baisas. The units of the Jabal Investment Fund recorded an increase of 8.1 percent and closed at 106 baisas.
The share of the Financial Centre (Fincorp) was the leading loser, declining by 16.2 percent and closing at 36 baisas. The share of Gulf Hotels-Oman fell by 10 percent and closed at OMR3.42, and the share of Muscat Gases fell by 7.4 percent and closed at 100 baisas.
In corporate news, National Bank of Oman said it has successfully completed the issuance of additional Tier 1 capital bonds worth US$150.4 million compliant with Basel III, explaining that it will use the proceeds of the issuance to manage the Tier 1 capital base and overall capital adequacy in addition to general corporate purposes.
Voltamp Energy said it has signed a joint venture agreement with Gulf Technical Services Company in Saudi Arabia to establish a joint venture focused on the growing demand for power transformer repair services in Saudi Arabia, noting that the initial investment is approximately OMR 8.4 million and the facility will be located in the Dammam Industrial Area, and the project is expected to start operations in the first quarter of 2026.
