Weak sentiments drag Oman shares lower

Muscat: Weak sentiments and lacklustre volumes dragged down the benchmark MSM30 Index by 0.44 per cent to finish at 5,331.07 points. The MSM Sharia Index ended at 784.32 points, down 0.45 per cent. Ooredoo was the most active in terms of volume and turnover. United Finance remained the top gainer, up 5.38 per cent while Al Jazeera Steel was the top loser, down by 5.14 per cent.
A total number of 422 trades were executed on Sunday, generating a turnover of OMR1.75 million with 8.18 million shares changing hands. Out of 33 traded securities, 2 advanced, 19 declined, and 12 remained unchanged. At the session close, Omani Investors were net buyers for OMR184,000 followed by GCC & Arab Investors for OMR11,000 while Foreign Investors were net sellers for OMR195,000 worth of shares.
Financial Index closed at 7,947.40 points with a sharp loss of 0.73 per cent. Oman United Insurance, Ahli Bank, Gulf Investment Services, Al Madina Investments and Al Izz Bank declined 4.49 per cent, 2.78 per cent, 2.17 per cent, 1.43 per cent and 1.15 per cent respectively.
Industrial Index declined 0.27 per cent to finish at 7,185.36 points. Al Jazeera Steel, up 1.67 per cent, was the only sector gainer. National Aluminium, Galfar Engineering, Oman Flour Mills, Gulf International Chemicals and Al Anwar Ceramics decreased 3.23 per cent, 2.47 per cent, 0.87 per cent, 0.85 per cent and 0.71 per cent respectively.
Services Index ended the session at 2,716.07 points, down 0.27 per cent. Al Jazeera Services, Phoenix Power, Omantel and Ooredoo declined 1.91 per cent, 1.56 per cent, 0.82 per cent and 0.42 per cent respectively.