Muscat: Investors on the Muscat Stock Exchange have witnessed a dynamic first half of the year marked by significant gains despite facing challenges in June. The main index surged to its highest level in 14 months at 4,845 points on May 30, signalling a period of optimism fueled by strong economic indicators and corporate earnings.
The backbone of the exchange, banks, reported record profits in the first quarter, with net profits climbing by 17 percent to OMR 124.5 million. This performance underscored growing confidence in the stability and potential of the exchange for the remainder of the year.
However, June saw the index retract by 158 points, impacted by declines in leading stocks across the banking, telecommunications, and energy sectors. This setback temporarily reversed gains accumulated since the start of the year, pushing the index below 4,600 points by June 25.
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Despite the June downturn, earlier months showed promising growth. April marked the peak performance with a 148-point increase, while March, May, and January also saw positive movements. February was the only month to record a slight decline of 7 points.
Trading activity surged in the first half of the year, with the trading value reaching Ro 559.1 million, up by 31.1 per cent from the same period last year. The number of traded securities more than doubled to 3.3 billion, reflecting heightened investor participation and interest in the market’s potential.
The market capitalization of the MSX expanded significantly by RO 478.2 million to reach RO 24.28 billion by the end of June. Public joint-stock companies accounted for 37.9 per cent of this total, demonstrating their substantial contribution to the market’s overall value.
The first half of 2024 also witnessed notable corporate developments, including Al Batinah Hotels Company’s transformation into a closed joint-stock company and Al Madina Investment Holding Company’s ongoing transition plan. Conversely, Al Hassan Engineering Company’s shareholders approved its voluntary dissolution and liquidation due to accumulated losses exceeding RO 77 million.
