Oman's share index gains momentum

Muscat: Oman bourse continued gaining momentum albeit low volume to close at 5,995.61 points, up by 0.27 per cent. The MSM Sharia Index was stable at 886.10 points, up by 0.24 per cent. Galfar Engineering was the most active in terms of volume, while Al Anwar Holding led in terms of turnover. National Gas was the top gainer, up by 7.89 per cent, while the top loser was OIFC with loss of 0.98 per cent.
As many as 1,185 trades were executed on Sunday, generating turnover of OMR3.94 million with 19.5 million shares changing hands. Out of 46 traded securities, 15 advanced, five declined and 26 remained unchanged. Omani investors were net buyers for OMR134,000 followed by GCC and Arab investors for OMR36,000, while foreign investors were net sellers for OMR170,000 worth of shares.
Financial Index gained by 0.42 per cent to close at 7,820.83 points. Global Financial Investment, Al Anwar Holding, Al Madina Investments, Al Sharqia Investments and Al Batinah Development increased by 5.52 per cent, 3.91 per cent, 3.08 per cent, 2.48 per cent and 1.90 per cent, respectively. HSBC Bank, Oman & Emirates, Bank Sohar and Oman United Insurance declined by 0.86 per cent, 0.63 per cent, 0.56 per cent and 0.37 per cent, respectively.
Industrial Index closed at 7,218.57 points, up by 0.32 per cent. Al Hassan Engineering, Galfar Engineering, Oman Fisheries, Raysut Cement and Al Jazeera Steel gained by 2.06 per cent, 1.72 per cent, 1.54 per cent, 1.25 per cent and 0.52 per cent, respectively.
Services Index advanced by 0.89 per cent to close at 3,329.56 points. National Gas and Renaissance Services advanced by 7.89 per cent and 6.90 per cent, respectively. OIFC, down by 0.98 per cent, was the only sector loser.