Muscat Stock Exchange index breaks four-week losing streak

The Muscat Stock Exchange's main index rebounded this week, gaining 258 points and snapping a four-week losing streak during which it had dropped 458 points. The index concluded trading at 7,575 points, buoyed by renewed investor interest following the closure of subscriptions for Oman India Fertiliser Company (Omifco) shares.

An influx of liquidity into the market and a reduction in selling pressures contributed to the positive performance. Traders also reacted favorably to anticipated strong financial results for the first half of the year, expected in the coming days. This optimism fueled a broad-based sectoral advance.

All major sectoral indices recorded gains. The financial sector index climbed 441 points to 13,207, the industrial sector index rose 177 points to 9,712, and the services sector index increased 75 points to 3,054. The Sharia index also saw a modest gain of 17 points, closing at 601.

Trading activity surged, with the total trading value increasing by 52 percent to OMR247.8 million from OMR162.6 million in the previous week. The number of transactions also rose by 25.2 percent to 48,000. Bank Muscat led trading in value, followed by OQ Group companies and telecommunications firms.