Muscat bourse declines amid thin volumes

Muscat: Amid thin trading volumes, the MSM30 Index declined by 0.51 per cent to 5,779.60 points, its lowest level in 2 months. The MSM Sharia Index slid 0.28 per cent to end at 891.17 points. Phoenix Power was the most active stock in terms of volume while Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel) led turnover-wise. The top gainer was Al Batinah Development, up by 2.25 per cent, while the top loser was Gulf Investment Services, down by 3.28 per cent.
As many as 595 trades were executed on Monday, generating turnover of OMR3.11 million with 13.5 million shares changing hands. Out of 40 traded securities, four advanced, 25 declined and 11 remained unchanged. Omani investors were net buyers for OMR595,000 while GCC and Arab investors were net sellers for OMR524,000 followed by foreign investors for OMR71,000 worth of shares.
Financial Index closed at 7,387.25 points, a loss of 0.59 per cent. Al Batinah Development, up by 2.25 per cent, was the only gainer. Gulf Investment Services, Global Financial Investment, Oman & Emirates Holding, Al Anwar Holding and Al Madina Investment declined by 3.28 per cent, 2.94 per cent, 2.14 per cent, 2.11 per cent and 1.61 per cent, respectively.
Industrial Index declined by 0.45 per cent to close at 7,538.30 points. National Aluminium, Al Anwar Ceramics and Oman Flour Mills gained by 0.95 per cent, 0.93 per cent and 0.64 per cent, respectively. Oman Fisheries, Galfar Engineering, Al Hassan Engineering, Voltamp Energy and Oman Cables declinedby 3.23 per cent, 1.89 per cent, 1.35 per cent, 0.87 per cent and 0.84 per cent, respectively.
Services Index ended at 3,141.95 points, down by 0.36 per cent. Ooredoo Oman, Phoenix Power, Port Services, Al Jazeera Services and Al Batinah Power lost 2.17 per cent, 1.37 per cent, 1.33 per cent, 0.52 per cent and 0.50 per cent, respectively.