Oman shares edge up on better buying support

Muscat: Shares on the Muscat Securities Market (MSM) edged up on better buying support from retail investors. The MSM30 Index remained stable at 5,729.38 points, up by 0.02 per cent. The MSM Sharia Index ended at 860.31 points, down by 0.24 per cent. HSBC Bank was the most active in terms of volume while Bank Muscat led in terms of turnover. Up by 1.64 per cent, the day’s top gainer was Oman Fisheries, while the top loser was Oman Cement with a loss of 2.56 per cent.
As many as 637 trades were executed on Monday, generating turnover of OMR2.84 million with 12.9 million shares changing hands. Out of 40 traded securities, ten advanced, 12 declined and 18 remained unchanged. Omani investors were net buyers for OMR300,000 followed by foreign investors for OMR89,000 while GCC and Arab investors remained net sellers for OMR389,000 worth of shares.
Financial Index retreated 0.10 per cent to close at 7,579.10 points. Gulf Investment Services, Ominvest, Al Sharqia Investment and Bank Muscat increased by 0.87 per cent, 0.82 per cent, 0.71 per cent and 0.45 per cent, respectively. Al Madina Investment, HSBC Bank Oman, Al Izz Bank, Al Batinah Investment and Development and Oman & Emirates Holding declined by 1.82 per cent, 1.71 per cent, 1.39 per cent, 1.03 per cent and 0.75 per cent, respectively.
Industrial Index closed negatively at 7,351.96 points, down by 0.13 per cent. Oman Fisheries, Gulf International Chemicals, Raysut Cement and Al Anwar Ceramics gained by 1.64 per cent, 1.49 per cent, 1.35 per cent and 1.16 per cent, respectively. Oman Cement, Galfar Engineering and Oman Flour Mills declined by 2.56 per cent, 0.99 per cent and 0.57 per cent, respectively.
Services Index had a marginal loss of 0.02 per cent to close at 3,066.88 points. Renaissance Services and Al Jazeera Services gained by 1.22 per cent and 0.50 per cent, respectively. Port Services, Phoenix Power and Omantel declinedby 0.84 per cent, 0.68 per cent and 0.33 per cent, respectively.
Asian shares
Asian shares pared gains as Philippine stocks added to declines in the Chinese market on Monday, while Australian and New Zealand benchmarks rose.
The MSCI Asia Pacific index advanced 0.1 per cent to 135.78 as of 4:53pm Hong Kong time. The Philippines Stock Exchange index posted the biggest loss among Asia Pacific equity gauges, erasing 2 per cent to close at a 9-month low as foreign investors continued a selloff.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.9 per cent to close at 21,832.68, the lowest close since Aug. 4. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index dropped 1 per cent, led by financial and construction firms on concern that earnings growth will suffer after the nation’s leaders vowed on Friday to safeguard the financial system and deflate asset bubbles.
China’s Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite index slipped 0.2 per cent. Growth stability remains the main backdrop even as China looks to deepen supply-side reforms in 2017, Suan Teck Kin, senior economist at United Overseas Bank in Singapore, wrote in a note.
"As such, we expect China’s growth rate to decelerate to around 6.6 per cent in 2017, from about 6.7 per cent in 2016,” he added.
Japan shares fell for the first time in three days after the Topix closed at a one-year high on Friday. The yen strengthened against the dollar for a second day. The Bank of Japan will conclude a two-day monetary policy board meeting on Tuesday.
Health-care and consumer staple stocks led MXAP gains, while information technology and finance companies declined the most.
Australia’s benchmark index had the biggest gain in the region. It rose 0.5 per cent, paring last week’s loss to close at 5,562.08. Nine of 11 primary groups gained, led by utilities and industrial stocks.