Muscat bourse rises boosted by buying in banking shares

Muscat: Supported by continued foreign buying in banking stocks, Oman’s benchmark MSM30 index gained 0.51 per cent to close at 5,074.39 points. The MSM Sharia Index also gained 0.41 per cent to close at 745.79 points. Bank Sohar was the leader in terms of volume while Bank Muscat was most active in terms of turnover. Bank Sohar, which closed higher by 2.76 per cent, was the top gainer while the top loser Port Services Corporation closed down by 5 per cent from Tuesday's close.
During the session, a total of 642 trades were executed, generating turnover of OMR3.3 million with more than 19.9 million shares changing hands. Out of 29 traded securities, 10 advanced, 7 declined, and 12 remained unchanged. Foreign investors were net buyers for OMR189,000 worth of shares followed by GCC and Arab investors for OMR46,000 while Omani investors continued to be net sellers for OMR235,000 worth of shares.
Financial index gained by 0.47 per cent today and closed at 7627.61 points. Bank Sohar, Bank Nizwa, National Bank of Oman, Bank Muscat, and Taageer Finance prices went up by 2.76 per cent, 2.15 per cent, 1.89 per cent, 1.58 per cent, and 0.89 per cent, respectively. Prices of Ahli Bank and Oman & Emirates Investments went down by 2.86 per cent, and 1 per cent, respectively.
Industrial Index closed at 6831.11 points with gains of 0.32 per cent. Galfar Engineering, Al Anwar Ceramics, and Al Jazeera Steel were up 2.70 per cent, 1.54 per cent, and 1.23 per cent, respectively. Oman Fisheries and National Aluminium went down by 1.57 per cent, and 0.76 per cent, respectively.
Services Sector Index declined by 0.18 per cent before closing at 2497.62 points. Al Jazeera Services, and Ooredoo were up by 1.33 per cent and 0.93 per cent, respectively. Port Services, National Gas, and OIFC declined by 5 per cent, 1.99 per cent, and 1.25 per cent, respectively.