Industrial scrips lift Oman shares higher

Muscat: Boosted by dividend announcements, industrial stocks lifted the MSM30 Index by 0.46 per cent to close at 5,436.91 points. MSM Sharia Index closed at 839.05 points, down 0.74 per cent. Bank Nizwa was the most active in terms of volume while Bank Muscat led in terms of turnover. Construction Materials remained the top gainer, up 6.45 per cent while Al Batinah Development was the top loser, with a loss of 5.13 per cent.
A total number of 699 trades were executed on Monday, generating turnover of OMR2.83 million with 13.4 million shares changing hands. Out of 45 traded securities, 19 advanced, seven declined and 19 remained unchanged. At the session close, Omani Investors were net buyers for OMR357,000 followed by GCC & Arab Investors OMR16,000 while Foreign Investors remained as net sellers for OMR373,000 worth of shares.
Financial Index advanced 0.22 per cent to end at 6,762.29 points. United Finance, Bank Dhofar, Bank Nizwa, Al Madina Takaful and Global Financial Investment increased 1.56 per cent, 1.46 per cent, 1.43 per cent, 1.41 per cent and 0.87 per cent respectively. Al Batinah Development, Al Sharqia Investment, Oman & Emirates Holding, Oman United Insurance and Bank Muscat declined 5.13 per cent, 4.55 per cent, 1.96 per cent, 1.26 per cent and 0.45 per cent respectively.
Industrial Index rallied 1.01 per cent and closed at 6,639.74 points. Construction Materials, Al Jazeera Steel, Oman Textiles, Oman Cables and Raysut Cement gained 6.45 per cent, 2.82 per cent, 2.67 per cent, 2.66 per cent and 2.50 per cent respectively.
Services Index remained stable at 3,001.08 points, up 0.05 per cent. Renaissance Services and Omantel increased 1.43 per cent and 0.65 per cent respectively. Al Suwadi Power and Sembcorp Salalah declined 0.50 per cent and 0.20 per cent respectively.