MUSCAT: Momentum in selected banking and telecom stocks lifted the MSM30 Index to 5,756.84 points, up by 0.42 per cent. The MSM Sharia Index closed at 866.49 points, up by 0.57 per cent. Bank Nizwa was the most active in terms of volume while Ooredoo stayed the leader in terms of turnover. Oman & Emirates Holding, up by 3.76 per cent, was the top gainer, while SMN Power Holding was the top loser, down by 1.12 per cent. A total number of 983 trades were executed on Wednesday, generating a turnover of OMR3.3 million with 17.34 million shares changing hands. Out of 41 traded securities, 23 advanced, three declined and 15 remained unchanged. Omani investors were net buyers for OMR251,000 followed by foreign investors of OMR88,000 while GCC and Arab investors stayed net sellers for OMR339,000 worth of shares.
Financial Index advanced by 0.45 per cent to close at 7,815.54 points. Oman & Emirates Holding, Gulf Investment Services, Al Sharqia Investments, Taageer Finance and Al Madina Investments gained 3.76 per cent, 3.45 per cent, 2.88 per cent, 2.46 per cent and 1.72 per cent, respectively. Ahli Bank, down by 0.51 per cent, was the only loser.
Industrial Index ended positively at 7,479.37 points, with a gain of 0.54 per cent. Al Jazeera Steel, Al Anwar Ceramics, Oman Fisheries, Gulf International Chemicals and Oman Refreshments increased by 3.27 per cent, 2.92 per cent, 1.54 per cent, 0.69 per cent and 0.23 per cent, respectively. Services Index gained by 0.40 per cent to close at 3,029.16 points. Al Jazeera Services, OIFC, Ooredoo, Sembcorp Salalah and Al Suwadi Power gained 3.61 per cent, 2 per cent, 1.95 per cent, 1.30 per cent and 1.11 per cent, respectively. SMN Power and Phoenix Power declined by 1.12 per cent and 0.66 per cent, respectively.
