Sunday 18 / January / 2026
Muscat: The main index of the Muscat Stock Exchange rose 97 points last week and closed at 6,223 points, benefiting from the atmosphere of optimism that prevailed among investors with the announcement of the preliminary financial results of public shareholding companies whose fiscal year ended last December.
Preliminary financial results showed good performance for many publicly listed companies on the Muscat Stock Exchange. OQ Exploration and Production recorded the highest profits at OMR293.1 million, although its profits during the past year recorded a decline of 10 percent compared to the net profits recorded in 2024, which amounted to OMR326.5 million. Bank Muscat ranked second with net profits of OMR255.5 million compared to OMR225.5 million in 2024 and the net profits of Bank Sohar International remained stable at OMR100 million.
The net profit of the National Bank of Oman (NBO) rose to OMR70.2 million compared to OMR63.1 million in 2024, and the profit of Ahli Bank increased from OMR41.6 million to OMR46.3 million. The profit of Oman Cables Industry rose to OMR24.2 million compared to OMR22.6 million in 2024, and the net profit of Voltamp Energy jumped from about OMR6.1 million to OMR14.2 million. Energy companies performed well, with the net profit of most companies that announced their financial results rising.
During the week, the prices of 57 securities rose, which positively impacted the stock exchange indices and the market capitalisation jumped to OMR33.25 billion, recording weekly gains of OMR318.5 million.
Sectoral indices recorded a positive performance, led by the industrial sector index, which rose 335 points, supported by several industrial companies, most notably Al Jazeera Steel Industries, Voltamp Energy, Oman Cables Industry, and Gulf Mushroom Production. The financial sector index rose 79 points, the services sector index rose 43 points, and the Sharia index rose 13 points.
During the week, the Muscat Stock Exchange witnessed a decline in the value of trading and the number of executed transactions. The value of trading decreased from OMR266 million to OMR174.6 million, and the number of transactions executed decreased from 26,686 transactions to 20,231 transactions.
OQ Exploration and Production topped the list of most traded companies in terms of trading value with OMR36.6 million, representing 21 percent of the total trading value. Bank Sohar International came in second with OMR25.7 million, Bank Muscat came in third with OMR25.1 million, Asyad Shipping came in fourth with OMR16.5 million and OQ Gas Networks came in fifth with trades worth about OMR13.6 million, representing 7.7 percent of the total trading value.
Gulfar Engineering and Contracting shares recorded the highest rise, increasing by 30.7 percent and closing at 85 baisa. Al Jazeera Steel Products shares rose by 23.4 percent and closed at 890 baisa, and Takaful Oman Insurance shares climbed to 77 baisa, recording a rise of 16.6 percent.
The building materials sector led the decliners, falling by 8.1 percent to close at 68 baisa. Oman Gas shares dropped to 92 baisa, a decline of 7 percent, and Oman Chrome shares fell by 5.4 percent to close at 3 riyals and 500 baisa.
Company news: The Gulf Mushroom Production Company announced that its board of directors has proposed a cash dividend of 25 baisa per share and a 10 percent bonus share distribution, equivalent to one share for every 10 shares. The company indicated that this proposal will be presented to the annual general meeting scheduled for March 24. Preliminary financial results showed that the company's net profit rose last year to OMR2.3 million compared to OMR1.9 million in 2024, registering an increase of 20 percent.
