MUSCAT, JAN 15 - The benchmark MSM 30 Index gained 62.22 points to reach 4,039.27 on Wednesday, the first day of trading at the end of three days of national mourning announced by the Omani government on the passing of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos last week.
The 1.54 per cent surge — the sharpest in a long time on the Omani bourse — was primarily attributable to a combination of two key factors, according to a Muscat-based stock market specialist.
“Firstly, the smooth transition of power following the death of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos to his successor, His Majesty Sayyid Haitham bin Tareq bin Taimour, was extremely well-received by traders. Secondly, a spate of good results announced by a number of listed companies during the course of the morning, with further expectations of equally good results from other companies, has buoyed the market as well,” said Hettish Karmani, Head of Research at U-Capital.
Accentuating the 1.54 per cent uptick was the turnover in share transactions that reached a value of over RO 5 million, said Karmani, adding that the market is expected to remain buoyant over the next couple of days as more listed companies announced their full-year 2019 results. The bond market also performed well yesterday, he noted.
The upturn is a welcome change for the Muscat Securities Market which saw its benchmark index decline 7.9 per cent to close at 3,981 points at the end of 2019, the only stock market in the GCC to have posted a decline last year.
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