Saturday 18 / April / 2026
Muscat: Trading value on the Muscat Stock Exchange rose in the first quarter of this year to OMR3.5 billion, compared to about OMR434.1 million in the first quarter of last year and OMR2.6 billion in the last quarter of 2025.
The first quarter of this year witnessed an increase in liquidity on the Muscat Stock Exchange from local investment institutions and individuals, with the improvement of national economic indicators, the rise in profits of publicly listed companies and the improvement in their financial results, at a time when most companies distributed profits to their shareholders and announced a number of new projects.
The Muscat Stock Exchange began trading in the first quarter with OMR836.8 million in January, rising to OMR1.2947 billion in February, then to OMR1.4264 billion in March. The total number of transactions executed in the first quarter was approximately 335,000 compared to 57,000 transactions executed in the same period of 2025.
The main index of the Muscat Stock Exchange recorded three new record levels in the first quarter of this year. On January 5 it rose to the level of 6,000 points, jumped to 7,000 points on February 11 and then to 8,000 points on March 29, to conclude the trading of the first quarter at 8,168 points, recording an increase of more than 2,300 points in the past three months.
The percentage of non-Omani ownership in the capital of public shareholding companies reached 14.2 percent by the end of March. The value of purchases by non-Omanis during the first quarter of this year amounted to OM418.7 million, constituting 11.7 percent of the total trading value, while their sales amounted to OMR395.2 million, constituting 11.1 percent of the total trading value.
Bank Sohar International topped the list of most traded companies in terms of trading value, with trades worth OMR656.3 million. Bank Muscat came in second with a trading value of OMR575.8 million, OQ Exploration and Production came in third with a trading value of to OMR522.5 million, OQ Basic Industries came in fourth with a trading value of OMR472.4 million and Omantel came in fifth with trades amounting to OMR333.3 million.
The bond and sukuk market in the first quarter of this year witnessed trading worth OMR31.3 million, including OMR11.2 million on the sixth issue of sovereign sukuk, OMR8.1 million on the third issue of sovereign sukuk, and OMR4.8 million on Bank Sohar International’s unsecured perpetual subordinated bonds. The total number of transactions executed in the bond and sukuk market reached 749 transactions.
