Banking, telecom stocks drive Oman shares higher

Muscat: Momentum in selected banking and telecom stocks lifted the MSM30 Index to 5,756.84 points, up by 0.42 per cent. The MSM Sharia Index closed at 866.49 points, up by 0.57 per cent. Bank Nizwa was the most active in terms of volume while Ooredoo stayed the leader in terms of turnover. Oman & Emirates Holding, up by 3.76 per cent, was the top gainer, while SMN Power Holding was the top loser, down by 1.12 per cent.
A total number of 983 trades were executed on Wednesday, generating a turnover of OMR3.3 million with 17.34 million shares changing hands. Out of 41 traded securities, 23 advanced, three declined and 15 remained unchanged. Omani investors were net buyers for OMR251,000 followed by foreign investors of OMR88,000 while GCC and Arab investors stayed net sellers for OMR339,000 worth of shares.
Financial Index advanced by 0.45 per cent to close at 7,815.54 points. Oman & Emirates Holding, Gulf Investment Services, Al Sharqia Investments, Taageer Finance and Al Madina Investments gained 3.76 per cent, 3.45 per cent, 2.88 per cent, 2.46 per cent and 1.72 per cent, respectively. Ahli Bank, down by 0.51 per cent, was the only loser.
Industrial Index ended positively at 7,479.37 points, with a gain of 0.54 per cent. Al Jazeera Steel, Al Anwar Ceramics, Oman Fisheries, Gulf International Chemicals and Oman Refreshments increased by 3.27 per cent, 2.92 per cent, 1.54 per cent, 0.69 per cent and 0.23 per cent, respectively.
Services Index gained by 0.40 per cent to close at 3,029.16 points. Al Jazeera Services, OIFC, Ooredoo, Sembcorp Salalah and Al Suwadi Power gained 3.61 per cent, 2 per cent, 1.95 per cent, 1.30 per cent and 1.11 per cent, respectively. SMN Power and Phoenix Power declined by 1.12 per cent and 0.66 per cent, respectively.
Sensex ends lower
Market traded sideways and ended a touch lower on Wednesday, hit by selling by foreign investors towards the close of the session amid a subdued trend in Europe.
The Sensex succumbed to the pressure, ending down 10.11 points, or 0.04 per cent, at 26,633.13. The gauge had gained 47.79 points previously.
The NSE Nifty too closed in negative territory with a minuscule fall of 1.75 points, or 0.02 per cent, at 8,190.50.
Sentiment soured after services PMI contracted for the second straight month and the all-crucial GST meet remained deadlocked over dual control, compensation and high-sea taxes.
The upcoming corporate results season and the approaching Union Budget kept investors on their toes.
"The headwinds in service PMI data post demonetization and the inability to reach a consensus on dual control in GST Council meet added volatility to the market," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Service.
The Nikkei India Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) stood at 46.8 in December, little changed from November's 46.7, a proof that demonetisation is taking its toll on the services sector.
The rupee struck a contrarian tone, strengthening 28 paise to end at 68.05.
In Europe, Frankfurt's DAX fell 0.17 per cent, Paris CAC 0.01 per cent and London's FTSE 0.03 per cent as investors waited for inflation figures for the euro zone.
But Asia firmed up following overnight gains on the Wall Street driven by optimism about the US economy and strong manufacturing numbers.
RIL slumped 1.99 per cent, ICICI Bank 1.26 per cent and Cipla 1.05 per cent.
However, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Auto, Wipro, Tata Motors, Hero Motocorp and Asian Paints ended in the green, rising by up to 3.47 per cent.
Banking index dropped, along with oil and gas, PSU and metal.
The broader markets threw up a mixed picture, with small-cap jumping 0.47 per cent and mid-cap declining 0.09 per cent.
Hong Kong shares declined 0.07 per cent while Japan's Nikkei rose 2.51 per cent and Shanghai gained 0.73 per cent.