Muscat bourse edges down

Muscat: Shares on the Muscat Securities Market edged down on lack of support from both institutional and retail investors. The MSM 30 Index, the barometer of market trend, inched down by 0.01 per cent to 5,069.91 points on Wednesday.
The bourse witnessed a turnover of OMR2.29 million, amid 10.75 million shares changing hand. The decline in traded volume shows dearth of liquidity in the market. Several investors have blocked their funds for applying for the initial public offering of Muscat City Desalination Company, which closed its one month subscription on December 18.
The market capitalisation of MSM rose by 0.01 per cent to OMR17.58 billion.
The major gainers included Gulf International Chemical, Taageer Finance, Oman National Engineering and Investment, Bank Dhofar, Oman and Emirates Investment Holding and Shell Oman Marketing.
Likewise, the main losers were National Detergent, Bank Sohar, Oman Telecommunications Company, Renaissance Services and ACWA Power.
The value of shares bought by non-Omani investors reached OMR478,000, constituting 20.82 per cent of the total shares bought by investors. The value of shares sold by non-Omani investors reached OMR353,000.