Saturday 22 / November / 2025
Muscat: The main index of the Muscat Stock Exchange declined by 76 points during the week amid selling pressure on a number of stocks that had recorded consecutive gains in previous weeks.
The main index closed at ,5647 points at the end of the week's trading, thus abandoning the 5,700-point level it had reached on November 12, recording its best level in more than 8 years.
The main index has recorded a number of record levels this year, supported by rising stock prices and increased buying activity from local investment funds and institutions.
The sectoral indices followed the lead of the main index, with the financial sector index recording a decline of 103 points, the industrial sector index declining by 20 points, and the services sector index losing 28 points, while the Sharia index managed to rise by 3 points, benefiting from the rise in the shares of a number of companies listed in the index sample, such as Ooredoo, Al Anwar Ceramic Tiles, and Pearl Real Estate Investment Fund.
The pressures witnessed by stocks in the week led to a decline in the prices of 47 securities, compared to 15 securities whose prices rose and 21 securities that remained unchanged at their previous levels. The declines witnessed by stocks also pushed the total market value of the Muscat Stock Exchange to record losses of OMR386.4 million, ending the week’s trading at OMR31.38 billion.
Trading value during the week fell to OMR134.6 million, compared to OMR215.4 million in the previous week, registering a drop of 37.5 percent. The number of transactions executed also decreased by 30.8 percent, from 35,000 transactions to 24,556 transactions.
Trading was concentrated on Bank Muscat shares, which saw trades worth OMR25.4 million, accounting for 18.8 percent of the total trading value. Bank Sohar International came in second with trades of OMR20.3 million, OQ Exploration and Production came in third with trades of OMR17.6 million, OQ Basic Industries came in fourth with trades of OMR14.8 million, and Abraj Energy Services came in fifth with trades of OMR14.1 million, representing 10.5 percent of the total trading value.
Dhofar Insurance shares led the gainers, rising 10 percent to close at 220 baisa, Ooredoo shares climbed to 285 baisa, up 8.3 percent, and Al Sharqiyah Investment Holding shares rose 4.7 percent to close at 88 baisa.
The Financial Services stock led the losing stocks, declining by 18.4 percent and closing at 128 baisa. Salalah Port Services stock fell to 300 baisa, recording a decline of 9 percent, and Muscat City Desalination stock declined to 76 baisa, a decrease of 8.4 percent.
In company news: The National Bank of Oman said it has completed the issuance of $450 million in Tier 1 perpetual capital securities, noting that the subscription witnessed broad demand at the local, regional and international levels, with demand exceeding 5 times the reference issuance size.
The bank explained that these securities carry an interest rate of 6.6 percent and are listed for trading on the Euronext exchange in Dublin, confirming that it will use these securities to strengthen its overall capital base and for its general corporate purposes, including refinancing or redeeming existing securities.
During the the week, Raysut Cement Company held an extraordinary general meeting during which it informed shareholders of the reasons for the erosion of capital. During the meeting, the Board of Directors was authorised to take the necessary measures to restore the company's capital. The financial statements indicated that the accumulated losses of the company amounted to OMR54.4 million by the end of September, while the capital amounts to OMR20 million.
