Muscat Stock Exchange index rises 91 points at the opening 2024

Muscat: The main index of the Muscat Stock Exchange opened trading in 2024 with an increase of 91 points amid good performance of most leading companies, and the government’s directions were strengthened to increase public spending in the 2024 budget to RO 11.650 billion, compared to RO 11.350 billion in the previous year.

The 2023 budget amid investor optimism that public joint stock companies will achieve good performance during the current year, benefiting from government spending and public finance trends to stimulate economic activities.

The Ministry of Finance said in the media meeting held last week that initial indicators indicate that the state’s general budget in 2023 will achieve a surplus of RO 931 million, stressing its endeavor to reduce the public debt to the lowest possible level while continuing to spend on a group of development and economic projects.

The main index of the Muscat Stock Exchange rose last week by 2 percent and closed at about 4,577 points, ending a decline wave that lasted 4 consecutive weeks.

The financial sector index recorded an increase last week of 171 points, benefiting from the rise in the shares of Ominvest, Bank Dhofar, Bank Sohar International, National Bank of Oman, and Bank Muscat.

The services sector index rose 28 points, supported by the shares of energy companies and Al Nahda Services, while the industrial sector index recorded a decline of 21 points, and the Sharia index lost 4 points.

The market value of securities listed on the Muscat Stock Exchange rose at the end of last week’s trading to RO 23.812 billion, recording weekly gains of RO 92.2 million.

The trading value rose last week to RO 26.4 million, compared to RO 22.5 million in the previous week, and the number of executed transactions increased from 3,950 deals to 6,855 deals, recording an increase of 73 percent.

This increase came as a result of investors’ interest in buying shares of OQ Gas Networks, which holds On Sunday, the Ordinary General Assembly held a meeting to discuss the distribution of cash dividends worth 7.6 baisas per share.

The number of transactions executed on OQ Gas Networks shares last week reached 5,025 transactions, equivalent to 73.3 percent of the total number of transactions executed during the week, and the share price closed stable at its previous level of 155 baisas, and the trading value of the share amounted to 6 million and 876 thousand Omani riyals, representing 18.4 percent of the total trading value.

OQ Gas Networks shares ranked second among the most traded companies in terms of trading value after Bank Muscat, which witnessed trading of about 6.4 million Omani riyals, representing 24.1 percent of the share.

Total trading value: Bank Muscat’s first category bonds came in third place with trades amounting to about RO 3.8 million, National Finance came in fourth place with RO 2.8 million, then the Omani cable industry with RO 1.3 million. The prices of 35 securities rose compared to 21 securities whose prices declined, and 16 securities stabilized at their previous levels. Dhofar Food and Investment shares recorded the best rise, rising by 19.1 percent and closing at 56 baisas, and Salalah Mills shares rose by 9.9 percent and closing at 533 baisas, and rose. Oman International Development and Investment “Ominvest” shares reached 470 baisas, up 9.3 percent.

Al Hassan Engineering shares recorded the highest declines and closed at 10 baisas, down by 41.1 percent. Dhofar Insurance shares fell by 9.6 percent and closed at 225 baisas, and Muscat Gases shares fell to 86 baisas, down by 9.4 percent.