Muscat: The Muscat Stock Exchange's main index resumed its upward trajectory last week, following a one-week decline, driven by increased purchases from local investment institutions focusing on banking, energy, and industrial stocks.
According to Yemen News Agency, the index climbed to 5,123 points by the end of last week's trading, marking an increase of 41 points. The industrial sector index led the gains with a rise of approximately 34 points. The services sector index increased by around 18 points, and the financial sector index went up by 17 points. However, the Shariah index saw a marginal dip of less than one point, closing at 471 points.
The previous week saw the main index return to the 5,100-point level after its fall in the prior week, with investors targeting leading stocks such as Bank Muscat, Bank Sohar International, National Bank of Oman, Al Safa Foods, Salalah Mills, OQ Gas Networks, Asyad Shipping, OQ Basic Industries, and energy stocks like Phoenix Energy, Al Batinah Energy, and Al Suwadi Energy.
The upward movement of stocks during the past week bolstered the Muscat Stock Exchange's market capitalization back to OMR 30 billion, ending the week with OMR 30 billion and 143 million, and registering weekly gains exceeding OMR 200 million.
Local investment funds and institutions shifted towards buying last week, aiming to counteract the selling trend by individual investors.
Trading data from the Muscat Stock Exchange revealed a rise in sales by Omani individual investors, accounting for 23.4 percent of the total trading value, compared to their purchases which comprised 17.8 percent of the total trading value. Local investment institutions, on the other hand, increased their buying activities, capturing 76.5 percent of the total trading value, while reducing their sales to 71.1 percent of the total trading value.
This strategy by local investment funds and institutions supported the stock gains observed over recent weeks. The trading value last week amounted to 79,779,000 Omani riyals, slightly down from approximately 82 million Omani riyals the previous week. The number of executed transactions on the Muscat Stock Exchange rose to 16,427, compared to 16,328 the week before.