Muscat: Trading values hit RO 649 million, reinforcing October’s record-breaking rally and signalling renewed appetite for banking and OQ Group stocks.
The upward trend was fuelled by strong participation from local investment funds, institutions, and individual Omani investors who expanded their portfolios as share prices and market valuations continued to climb.
Banking and OQ Group companies dominated trading activity. Bank Muscat led with trades worth RO 135 million, accounting for 20.8% of the month’s total trading value. OQ Exploration and Production followed with RO 104.2 million, while Bank Sohar International recorded RO 102.6 million. OQ Basic Industries and Asyad Shipping rounded out the top five, with trading values of RO 72.2 million and RO 58.1 million respectively.
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Market performance remained broadly positive, with 47 securities posting gains against 37 decliners, while 20 remained unchanged. The main index rose for the fifth straight month, adding 95 points to close November at 5,705, building on gains of 428 points in October and 151 points in September.
Sectoral performance showed mixed movement:
Industrial Index: up 39 points
Services Index: up 89 points
Sharia Index: up 26 points
Financial Index: down 16 points, weighed by mild declines in Bank Muscat and Bank Sohar International, ending at 9,212 points
Total market capitalization climbed to RO 31.626 billion, an increase of 289.8 million riyals from October. OQ Exploration and Production topped the list of public shareholding companies by market cap at RO 3.048 billion, followed by Bank Muscat at RO 2.5 billion and Bank Sohar International at RO 1.045 billion. Asyad Shipping and OQ Gas Networks completed the top five with RO 901.1 million and RO 805.4 million respectively.
November also recorded 109,523 executed transactions, the second-highest monthly total of the year after October’s 133,000-plus trades.
Among individual stock performances, Ooredoo led the gainers with a 26.5% rise to 296 baisa. The Financial Center gained 16.6% to close at 42 baisa, while Majan College increased 14% to 130 baisa. Oman & Emirates Investment Holding rose 13.4% to 93 baisa, and International Financial Investments Holding advanced 12% to 196 baisa.
On the losing end, Financial Services posted the steepest decline at 33.1%, closing at 105 baisa. Oman Finance Free Bonds 2023 fell 31.5% to 50 baisa, while Oman Finance Services Bonds (2025) dropped 13.6% to 76 baisa. Al Anwar Investments slipped 11.8% to 97 baisa, and Oman Fisheries decreased 6.9% to 27 baisa.
