Muscat: The market’s volatility, influenced by regional and global economic uncertainties, prompted a surge in foreign buying, with their purchases representing about 14% of the total trading value. This contrasted sharply with their 5% share of total sales.
During the week, 39 securities saw their prices fall, while 15 gained and 19 remained stable. The overall trading value dropped significantly by 48%, falling to RO 8.3 million from the previous week’s RO 16.2 million. The number of executed deals also decreased by 22%, from 3,521 to 2,744.
Local investors were more cautious, with individual investors selling off 29.6% of the total trading value compared to their 26.8% in purchases. Local investment institutions followed suit, with their sales accounting for 58.7% of the total trading value against 50.2% in purchases.
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The market indices reflected the downturn, with the main index falling by 22 points to close at 4644 points. The industrial sector led the declines with a drop of 119 points, followed by the financial sector losing 43 points, and the services sector down by 14 points. Notably, the Shariah index saw a marginal increase of less than one point.
The market value of listed securities fell to 24.39 billion Omani riyals, with a weekly loss of 31.8 million riyals. Shares of OQ Gas Networks, Bank Muscat, and Bank Sohar International were the main focus, together making up 52% of the trading value. OQ Gas Networks led with trading worth RO 1,882,000, while Bank Muscat and Bank Sohar International followed with RO 1,799,000 and RO 658,000, respectively.
In contrast, the Dhofar Insurance share topped the gainers with a 9.5% rise to 230 baisas, and Aman Investment Fund units increased by 6.5% to 97 baisas. On the losing side, the Financial Centre stock dropped 13.3% to 52 baisas, and Gulf International Chemicals fell by 9.5% to 66 baisas.
In corporate news, Omantel reported a decline in first-half profits to RO 110.2 million, down from RO 207.1 million the previous year. The decline was attributed to increased capital expenditures for network expansion, which impacted net profits in the local market.
