MUSCAT: Oman bourse, Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX) saw its market value climb to RO 24.351 billion by the end of last week's trading, marking a weekly gain of over RO 108.500 million. This surge came as stock prices increased at the beginning of the second half of the year, buoyed by positive expectations for the forthcoming financial statements for the first half of the year, which are anticipated to be released in the next few days.
During last week, the prices of 30 securities rose, while 25 saw declines, and 19 remained unchanged. The gains were primarily observed in the services and industry sectors, whereas banks and investment companies experienced a volatile performance. The industrial sector index posted the highest rise, gaining 65 points, followed by the services sector index, which increased by 24 points. The Sharia index rose by 4 points, while the financial sector index fell by 83 points. The main stock index recorded a modest increase of 1 point, closing at 4,688 points.
The MSX experienced exceptional trading activity last week, with the trading value soaring to RO 110.500 million from RO 10.600 million the previous week, representing an increase of over 940 per cent. This spike was largely due to a special deal on Abraj Energy Services shares, which alone accounted for trades worth RO 100.500 million, representing 90.8 per cent of the total trading value. OQ Gas Networks saw trades worth RO 1.500 million, while Sohar International Bank came third with RO 1.300 million. Oman Cables Industry Company ranked fourth with RO 0.885 million, and Bank Muscat was fifth with RO 0.861 million.
Despite the heightened interest in many stocks, the number of transactions executed last week fell to 3,804, a decline of 12.9 per cent from the previous week's 4,370 transactions.
Barka Water and Power shares recorded the highest increase, rising by 22.1 per cent to close at 309 baisas. Shell Oman Marketing shares rose by 9.8 per cent to close at 912 baisas, Dhofar Beverages and Foodstuffs shares increased by 9.6 per cent to 205 baisas, Muscat Gases shares climbed by 8.5 per cent to 140 baisas, and Muscat City Desalination shares rose by 8.4 per cent to close at 77 baisas.
On the downside, Oman Real Estate Fund units saw the highest losses, dropping by 14.6 per cent to close at 64 baisas. Oman United Insurance shares fell by 11.3 per cent to 235 baisas, Oman Fisheries shares dropped by 8.1 per cent to 45 baisas, Al Maha Petroleum Products Marketing shares decreased by 6 per cent to close at RO 20.020, and Oman International Development and Investment (Ominvest) shares fell by 5.5 per cent to close at 340 baisas.
Starting July 1, the MSX has implemented a new sample for the main index, sectoral indicators, and total return indicators following the completion of an annual review. The new main index sample includes 30 public joint stock companies, with 11 from the financial sector, 13 from the services sector, and 6 from the industrial sector. As part of this review, five companies were removed from the main index sample – Shell Oman Marketing, Gulf for Mushroom Production, Al Jazeera Steel Products, Muscat Finance, and Al Maha Ceramics. They were replaced by OQ Gas Networks, Oman Cables Industry Company, Barka Water and Energy, International Financial Investments, and Voltamp Energy.
The sectoral indicators sample now includes 45 companies distributed equally among the financial, industrial, and services sectors, with 15 companies in each sector. These indicators fluctuate based on the performance of the included stocks.
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