Oman’s share index falls on aggressive selling by foreigners

Muscat: Aggressive selling by foreigners in banking stocks and regional selling in telecom sector pushed down the MSM30 Index to 5,363.22 points, down 0.61 per cent. The MSM Sharia Index declined 0.28 per cent to close at 832.21 points. Bank Muscat was the most active in terms of volume as well as turnover. Phoenix Power, up 0.69 per cent was the day’s only gainer while Omantel, with loss of 2.19 per cent was the top loser.
As many as 841 trades were executed on Tuesday, generating turnover of OMR3.1 million with 12.3 million shares changing hands. Out of 47 traded securities, one advanced, 16 declined and 30 remained unchanged. Omani Investors remained net buyers for OMR953,000 while Foreign Investors were net sellers for OMR573,000 followed by GCC & Arab investors for OMR380,000 worth of shares.
Financial Index declined strongly by 0.62 per cent to end at 6,587.57 points. Al Anwar Holding, Bank Dhofar, Al Madina Takaful, Bank Sohar and Bank Muscat decreased 1.67 per cent, 1.46 per cent, 1.37 per cent, 1.32 per cent and 0.93 per cent respectively.
Industrial Index ended the session at 6,624.04 points, down 0.14 per cent. Gulf International Chemicals, Oman Fisheries, Al Jazeera Steel and Al Maha Ceramics declined 1.92 per cent, 1.72 per cent, 0.71 per cent and 0.49 per cent respectively.
Services Index retreated 0.46 per cent to finish at 3,071.94 points. Phoenix Power, up 0.69 per cent was the only market gainer. Omantel, Renaissance Services, OIFC and Port Services decreased 2.19 per cent, 2.17 per cent, 1.48 per cent and 1.01 per cent respectively.