Saturday 31 / October / 2026
Muscat: The main index of the Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX) reduced its losses during the week, declining by 33 points after falling by about 300 points and 154 points in the previous two weeks, benefiting from increased purchases by local investment funds and institutions.
It also benefited by the efforts of individual Omani investors to increase their purchases with the improvement of the shares of a number of leading companies, amid expectations of further improvement in the coming weeks, after the declines recorded by many leading stocks in the past two weeks.
Trading data issued by the Muscat Stock Exchange indicated that local investment funds and institutions injected more liquidity into trading during the week, pushing the value of trading up by 48 percent to OMR318.9 million, compared to OMR214.7 million in the week before. The number of transactions executed remained stable at 75,000 transactions for the second week in a row.
The value of purchases by local investment funds and institutions rose during the week to OMR244.3 million, compared to OMR162.6 million in the previous week. Purchases by individual Omani investors also increased from OMR30.2 million to OMR41.3 million.
The week's trading was characterised by investor caution, with the main index falling by more than 100 points to 7,278 points on Sunday.
However, it managed to recover some of these losses on Monday, rising by about 80 points, but it was unable to continue its upward trend, affected by the fluctuations witnessed by the shares of industrial, banking, and investment companies. The industrial sector index recorded the largest losses, declining by 116 points, and the financial sector index fell by 98 points. Meanwhile, the services sector index managed to rise by 11 points, benefiting from the rise in energy company shares as companies announced a number of positive developments. The Sharia-compliant index recorded a slight increase of less than one point and closed at 609 points.
The week also saw a decline in the prices of 53 securities, compared to 24 securities whose prices rose and 17 securities that remained unchanged at their previous levels. The recorded declines were reflected in the total market capitalisation of the Muscat Stock Exchange, which fell by the end of the week’s trading to OMR38.58 billion, recording weekly losses of OMR96 million.
Omantel's stock attracted investors, witnessing trades worth OMR64.7 million, representing 20.2 percent of the total trading value. OQ Exploration and Production came next with trades of OMR50.2 million, Bank Sohar International saw trades worth OMR40.9 million, OQ Gas Networks (OQGN) saw trades worth OMR36.1 million and OQ Basic Industries saw trades worth OMR34.5 million, representing 10.8 percent of the total trading value.
Sohar Power shares led the gainers, rising by 11.3 percent and closing at 256 baisa. Al Batinah Power shares rose by 7.2 percent and closed at 207 baisa. Al Suwadi Power shares recorded a rise of 6.1 percent and closed at 206 baisa. National Oman Engineering and Investment shares rose by 5.4 percent and closed at 154 baisa. National Finance shares rose to 220 baisa, recording a rise of 4.7 percent.
In contrast, Oman Finance Services 2025 bonds recorded the highest losses, declining by 21.8 percent and closing at 75 baisa. National Detergents Industrial shares declined by 10 percent and closed at 549 baisa. Salalah Port Services shares fell to 527 baisa, recording a decline of 9.9 percent. Salalah Mills shares declined by 9.2 percent and closed at 590 baisa. Barka Water and Power shares recorded a decline of 7.5 percent and closed at 146 baisa.
Company news:
Al Suwadi Power and Al Batinah Power announced in two separate disclosures the completion of the refinancing of existing financing facilities through local banks, fulfilling all preconditions and completion requirements, and the full repayment of existing financing facilities.
They indicated that the new loan will be fully repaid in 2042, and that the refinancing will result in the availability of additional liquidity enabling the two companies to distribute special cash dividends next March. The two companies announced earlier this year their desire to merge, pending the required approvals.
The week also saw the launch of the subscription for the additional offering of Asyad Shipping Company, allocated to individual investors, which amounts to 65.1 million shares at a price of 195 baisa per share, and the subscription will close on November 2nd.
