Profit-booking pulls down Oman share index

Muscat: Shares on the Muscat Securities Market edged down on profit booking. The MSM30 Index closed at 5,959.33 points, down by 0.22 per cent due to profit taking in index stocks. The MSM Sharia Index was stable at 889.25 points, up 0.02 per cent. Global Financial Investment was most active in terms of volume and Bank Muscat led in turnover. The top gainer was National Aluminium, up by 6.41 per cent, while Renaissance Service was the top loser, down by 3.09 per cent.
As many as 1,227 trades were executed on Tuesday, generating turnover of OMR4.9 million with 22.2 million shares changing hands. Out of 47 traded securities, 17 advanced, 17 declined and 13 remained unchanged. Omani investors were net buyers for OMR318,000 followed by GCC and Arab investors for OMR248,000 while foreign investors were net sellers for OMR566,000 worth of shares.
Financial Index declined by 0.21 per cent to close at 7,687.64 points. Al Izz Islamic Bank, Gulf Investment Services, Al Sharqia Investments, Oman & Emirates and Al Anwar Holding gained 1.72 per cent, 0.78 per cent, 0.65 per cent, 0.65 per cent and 0.43 per cent, respectively. Al Madina Investments, HSBC Bank, Muscat Finance, Global Financial Investment and BankDhofar fell by 2.94 per cent, 1.74 per cent, 1.64 per cent, 1.36 per cent and 0.79 per cent, respectively.
Industrial Index ended positively at 7,355.90 points, up by 0.36 per cent. National Aluminium, Construction Materials, Dhofar Cattlefeed, Voltamp Energy and Al Maha Ceramics increased by 6.41 per cent, 3.03 per cent, 2.27 per cent, 1.90 per cent and 1.41 per cent, respectively. Oman Fisheries, Al Hassan Engineering, Galfar Engineering, Oman Cement and Raysut Cement declined by 1.59 per cent, 1.04 per cent, 0.86 per cent, 0.41 per cent and 0.40 per cent, respectively.
Services Index declined by 0.28 per cent to close at 3,338.28 points. Al Jazeera Services, National Gas, Phoenix Power and Ooredoo Oman advanced by 3.81 per cent, 3.02 per cent, 1.30 per cent and 0.52 per cent, respectively. Renaissance Services, Port Services, OIFC and Al Maha Petroleum slid by 3.09 per cent, 1.56 per cent, 1.43 per cent and 0.32 per cent, respectively.