Muscat: The main index of the Muscat Stock Exchange rose 30 points last week, closing at 4,960 points, marking its ninth consecutive week of gains. Meanwhile, sectoral indices faced a decline due to increased supply from individual investors.
According to Yemen News Agency, stock prices pressured sectoral indices on Saturday, leading to a collective decline. The industrial sector index recorded the highest losses, falling 79 points, while the services sector index declined by 25 points. The Shariah index fell to 470 points, down by 6 points, and the financial sector index decreased by 4 points, ending the weekly trading session at 8,167 points.
Last week, the Muscat Stock Exchange saw gains in trading value and market capitalization. The market capitalization of securities listed on the exchange rose to OMR 29 billion and 652.9 million by the end of the week, with weekly gains of OMR 42.8 million. Trading value increased by 3.1 percent, surpassing OMR 125 million, compared to OMR 121.2 million the previous week. However, executed transactions dropped from 13,709 to 10,210, a decline of 25.5 percent.
Investors showed a significant interest in Bank Sohar International shares, which saw trades worth OMR 32.1 million, constituting 25.6 percent of the total trading value. OQ Basic Industries followed with OMR 22 million, and Bank Muscat was third with OMR 19.1 million, representing 15.3 percent of the total trading value.
Individual investors turned to selling last week to capitalize on the price levels achieved by stocks in recent weeks. Their sales accounted for approximately 24 percent of the total trading value, compared to purchases of 19.3 percent. The pressure on stocks led to a decline in the prices of 44 securities, while 21 saw price increases and 27 remained stable.