Muscat: The Muscat Stock Exchange recorded new gains last week across its various indices, amid increased liquidity levels by local investment institutions.
According to Yemen News Agency, the weekly report issued by the Exchange today, Saturday, highlighted that the main index rose by the end of last week's trading to 5370 points, gaining 80 points.
Sector indices recorded collective gains, except for the industrial sector index, which experienced a decline of 44 points due to the downturn in shares of leading industrial companies such as Voltamp Energy, Al Saffa Foods, and Al Maha Ceramics. The services sector index recorded the highest gains, rising by 87 points, equivalent to 4.1%, closing at 2185 points, primarily benefiting from the rise in shares of energy companies. The financial sector index also rose by about 33 points, while the Sharia index saw a slight increase of one point, closing at 462 points.
The Muscat Stock Exchange's market value increased by more than 245 million Omani Rials, reaching 30 billion and 842 million Omani Rials by the end of Thursday's trading. This was largely due to the rise in shares of many leading companies, most notably OQ for Exploration and Production, which recorded gains of 21 Baisa last week and closed at 345 Baisa. The company's market value rose to two billion and 760 million Omani Rials, noting weekly gains of 168 million Omani Rials.
Trading value last week increased by 19.3%, reaching 287.4 million Omani Rials compared to 240.9 million Omani Rials the previous week. The number of executed trades rose significantly to 41,623 deals compared to 25,171 deals executed in the previous week.
Sohar International Bank topped the list of the most traded companies with 69.8 million Omani Rials, accounting for 24.3% of the total trading value. OQ Gas Networks and OQ for Basic Industries followed with 46.4 million and 44.9 million Omani Rials, respectively. Bank Muscat and Asyad for Marine Transport also featured prominently, with trades of 38.5 million and 32.9 million Omani Rials, respectively.
Last week saw 35 securities rise in price, compared to 28 securities that declined, and 24 securities that stabilized at their previous levels. Salalah Port Services recorded the highest gains, rising by 25% and closing at 300 Baisa, while Oman Refreshment Company saw a significant increase of 20.9%, reaching 1 Rial and 492 Baisa.