Muscat Stock Exchange records new gains, the index breaks barrier of 4800 points

Muscat: The Muscat Stock Exchange recorded new gains, with the market value rising above OMR 23.9 billion, recording weekly gains of more than OMR 40 million.

The main index of the Stock Exchange managed to break the barrier of 4,800 points over the course of Tuesday and Wednesday, but it gave up these gains on Thursday, concluding the trading week at 4,796 points, recording a weekly increase of 6 points, up for the second week in a row.

Last week, the Muscat Stock Exchange benefited from an atmosphere of optimism, with the public joint stock companies announcing their initial financial results for the first half of this year, and the prices of 27 securities increased compared to 25 securities whose prices fell and 24 securities that settled at their previous levels, and the service sector index was able to record gains of about 17 points.

However, the other three sectoral indices closed down at 10 points for the financial sector index, 4 points for the Sharia index, and 3 points for the financial sector index. The selling operations pressured the performance of the stock market, as the trading value fell to 16.4 million Omani riyals, compared to 21.6 million Omani riyals in the previous week, recording a decrease of 24 percent.

Leading companies such as Bank Muscat, Omantel, Ooredoo and Abraaj Energy Services, in addition to a number of shares with a low market value, such as Al Anwar Investments, which witnessed the implementation of 315 deals and closed at 88 baisas. This turnout came at a time when the company announced that it had achieved in the first quarter of its current fiscal year Net profit of RO 947 thousand compared to losses amounting to RO 644 thousand in the same period of its previous fiscal year. Al Anwar Investments, Bank Nizwa, Bank Muscat, Bank Dhofar and Abraaj Energy Services came at the forefront of the most traded companies in terms of the number of shares traded, while Bank Muscat topped the most traded companies in terms of turnover with RO 2.7 million, representing 16.5 percent of the total turnover, and Omantel came second.

With transactions of about OMR 2.1 million, then Ooredoo, which witnessed transactions with a value of OMR 1.6 million, Abraaj Energy Services came fourth with OMR 1.5 million, and Bank Dhofar ranked fifth with transactions worth about OMR 1.3 million. National Finance shares topped the gainers, up by 29.1 percent and closed at 155 baisas. The company said that its profits in the first half of this year increased by 7.8 percent from RO 5 million to RO 5.4 million. Voltamp Energy’s share rose by 23.8 percent and closed at 130. baisa, and the company announced a net profit of RO 110,000 in the first half of this year, compared to losses of RO 1.1 million in the same period last year.

The list of companies that rose the most included Barka Water and Energy, whose share rose by 13.3 percent and closed at 51 baisas, Majan College, whose share rose by 8.7 percent and closed at 125 baisas, and Sembcorp Salalah, whose share rose by 7.4 percent and closed at 101 baisas. Majan Glass shares led the losing shares, declining by 81.4 percent, and closed at 30 baizas.

The company’s initial financial results showed a decline in its losses in the first half of this year to RO 228 thousand, compared to losses of about RO 274 thousand in the first half of last year. The company suffers from the erosion of its entire capital, amounting to 4.2 million Omani riyals, and the financial statements indicate that the accumulated losses of the company until last March amounted to 4.6 million Omani riyals. The share of Omani Fish declined by 9.6 percent and closed at 56 baisas.

The preliminary financial results indicated that the company recorded losses of RO 1.6 million in the first half of this year, compared to profits amounting to RO 2.3 million in the same period last year. The list of the most declining stocks included the shares of Muscat Desalination City, Al Madina Investment Holding and Al Khaleejia for Mushroom Production, which declined by rates ranging between 8 percent and 5 percent.