Sunday 05 / May / 2024
Muscat: Weakness persisted in local markets, with the MSM30 Index closing at 5,439.18 points, down 0.35 per cent. The MSM Sharia Index declined 0.14 per cent to close at 839.61 points. Bank Muscat was the most active in terms of volume as well as turnover. Al Jazeera Services was the day’s top gainer, up 5.29 per cent, while Al Anwar Ceramics was the top loser, down 3.90 per cent.
A total number of 417 trades were executed on Tuesday, generating turnover of OMR2.15 million with 9.8 million shares changing hands. Out of 36 traded securities, 7 advanced, 11 declined and 18 remained unchanged. At the session close, Omani Investors stayed net buyers for OMR676,000 followed by GCC & Arab Investors for OMR158,000 while Foreign Investors were net sellers for OMR834,000 worth of shares.
Financial Index declined 0.41 per cent to close at 7,045.39 points. Al Izz Bank, Al Batinah Development and Al Sharqia Investment gained 3.17 per cent, 1.19 per cent and 0.88 per cent respectively. Takaful Oman, Al Anwar Holding, Bank Nizwa, Bank Dhofar and Bank Muscat lost 1.96 per cent, 1.82 per cent, 1.28 per cent, 0.92 per cent and 0.49 per cent respectively.
Industrial Index ended at 7,098.53 points, down 0.34 per cent. Construction Materials was only gainer, up 3.45 per cent. Al Anwar Ceramic, Galfar Engineering and Al Maha Ceramics decreased 3.90 per cent, 2.11 per cent and 0.41 per cent respectively.
Services Index has marginal loss of 0.04 per cent and finished at 3,013.11 points. Al Jazeera Services, Oman Education & Training and Shell Oman Marketing declined 5.29 per cent, 0.66 per cent and 0.51 per cent respectively. Port Services and Ooredoo decreased 3.64 per cent and 0.63 per cent respectively.
Saudi stocks climbs
Saudi Arabia’s pledge to unlock delayed payments to contractors by the end of the year propelled the nation’s stocks to the highest level since August.
The Tadawul All Share Index rose 2.2 per cent to 6,333.54 as of 1:47pm in Riyadh, with 156 of the benchmark’s 175 members climbing. Financial stocks led gains, with a gauge of the nation’s 12 lenders rising 2.9 per cent. An interest rate used by banks to price loans fell for an eighth day, signaling a further easing of the kingdom’s cash squeeze.
Equities in Saudi Arabia have advanced 13 days out of 15 since the Arab world’s largest economy raised $17.5 billion in a bond sale last month, a record for an emerging market nation. The cash is helping to alleviate a liquidity crunch as the country grapples with a slump in the price of oil, its main source of income. The government said on Monday it would settle payments owed to private companies before the end of 2016.
"The announcement that contractors will be paid is good news for the market, gives it a timeframe to work with and adds to existing positive sentiment," said Mohammed Alsuwayed, the Riyadh-based head of capital and money markets at Adeem Capital. "Local fundamentals are ruling the scene right now. It seems that skeptical investors are now trying to catch up what’s left of the rally, as the index trades above the 6,200 level."
The Tadawul’s 14-day relative strength index stayed above 70 for a second day, a level seen by analysts as a signal that it might have risen too fast and is poised for a decline.
The world’s biggest oil exporter delayed payments to contractors last year as it sought to rein in a budget deficit that reached about 15 per cent of economic output. With oil trading at less than half 2014 levels, authorities have also rolled out a package of austerity measures, including cuts to public-sector wages. Economic growth may slow to 1.3 per cent this year, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists, the lowest level since the 2009 global recession.
The three-month Saudi Interbank Offered Rate, the price banks pay each other for loans, fell to 2.223 percent in its longest losing streak since February 2015, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Shares in Al Rajhi Bank rose for a 17th session to 61.50 riyals, the highest level since April. Samba Financial Group advanced 4.7 per cent and National Commercial Bank was up 1.8 per cent.
