Muscat: Trading value surged to nearly RO 50.2 million last week, up by 21.6% from RO 41.2 million the week before.

Investor confidence on the Muscat Stock Exchange remained high, with local, Gulf, and foreign institutions accounting for 77.5% of total purchases, outpacing their share of sales at 71.6%. The influx of capital contributed to a significant uptick in liquidity, reinforcing a positive outlook across sectors.

The MSX main index climbed 63 points, closing the week at 4,561 points — its fifth consecutive weekly gain. Sectoral indices mirrored the market’s upward momentum, led by the Industrial sector index, which spiked 365 points (5.9%) to 6,565 points, supported by notable performances from Oman Cables Industry, Al Jazeera Iron Products, Al Maha Ceramics, and Oman Cement.

The Services sector rose 2.2% to 1,625 points, backed by gains in Ooredoo, Omantel, Muscat City Desalination Company, and OQ Gas Networks. Meanwhile, the Financial sector index climbed 33 points, and the Shariah index added 18 points, closing at 445.

Top trading activity centered around major players such as OQ Basic Industries, which led with RO 8.485 million in trades, representing 16.9% of total market turnover. Bank Sohar International followed with RO 7.9 million, and OQ Gas Networks secured third spot at RO 6.053 million. OQ Exploration and Production and Bank Muscat rounded out the top five.

Market capitalization saw a robust weekly gain of RO 192.3 million, reaching RO 27.927 billion by the close of Thursday’s trading.

In terms of individual stock performance, Al Maha Ceramics and Galfar Engineering both surged 13.7%, while Ooredoo climbed 12.3% to close at 210 baisas. On the downside, Raysut Cement fell 3.6%, closing at 107 baisas, followed by Financial Centre and Building Materials Industry, which slipped 3.2% and 2.3% respectively.