Muscat: The surge was driven by strong activity in the eighth issue of sovereign sukuk, which accounted for 50.2% of total trading with transactions worth RO 10.3 million.
The sovereign sukuk, listed on MSX on January 5, has a volume of RO 282 million and an annual profit rate of 4.8%. Last week, the sukuk saw its first trading activity, with a single deal of 100,000 bonds executed at RO 103.560 per bond. This led to a significant rise in the bonds and sukuk market trading value, which soared to RO 11.36 million from just RO 1.13 million the previous week. Meanwhile, stock market trading declined from RO 15.1 million to RO 9.2 million.
Investor sentiment remained cautious and subdued following the announcement of the Asyad Shipping Company IPO, which will offer 1.04 billion shares for public subscription from February 20 to 27. The offering price is set at 123 baisas per share for individual investors, while institutional investors will bid within a range of 117 to 123 baisas per share.
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Despite the rise in overall trading value, the MSX main index dropped 34 points, closing at 4,443 points. The financial sector led the declines, losing 58 points, followed by the services sector (-28 points) and the Sharia index (-3 points). The industrial sector was the sole gainer, climbing 10 points to 5,624, supported by strong performances from Voltamp Energy, Oman Cement, and Galfar Engineering and Contracting.
The market saw 35 stocks decline, compared to 17 gainers, while 25 stocks remained unchanged. This pushed the total market value down by RO 57.1 million, closing the week at RO 27.287 billion.
Gains:
Gulf Hotels – Oman: +10% to RO 3.850
Voltamp Energy: +4.5% to 580 baisas
Galfar Engineering & Contracting: +4% to 79 baisas
Loses:
Al Jazeera Services: -11% to 170 baisas
Fincorp Financial Center: -9.6% to 47 baisas
Al Maha Petroleum Products Marketing: -8.7% to RO 1.340
MSX also listed the preferential rights of Al Anwar Investments Company, which is offering 76.9 million shares for subscription between February 23 and March 3 at 66 baisas per share. However, no trading was recorded on these rights after their listing, while 22 trades were executed on the stock itself, closing at 67 baisas after a 1 baisa drop in trading worth RO 37,000.
