Oman's share index closes lower on profit taking

Muscat: After 5 straight gaining sessions, MSM stocks witnessed profit taking on Wednesday. The benchmark MSM30 Index corrected lower by 0.51 per cent before closing at 3,962.20 points. The Sharia Index closed at 550.34 points, with very marginal decline of 0.03 per cent. Al Madina Takaful was the most active in terms of turnover while Bank Muscat was the most active in terms of turnover. OIFC, up 2.25 per cent, was the best performer during the session, while Al Batinah Power, down 5.00 per cent, was the top loser.
A total number of 446 trades were executed during the day's trading session generating turnover of OMR1.29 million with more than 10.10 million shares changing hands. Out of 34 traded stocks, 6 advanced, 13 declined and 15 remained unchanged. At the session close, GCC & Arab investors remained as net sellers for OMR140,000, while Omani investors were net buyers for OMR95,000 followed by foreign investors for OMR45,000 worth of shares.
Financial Index closed at 6,343.27 points, lower by 0.39 per cent. Gulf Investment Services, Muscat Finance, Alizz Islamic bank, Al Madina Takaful, and Vision Insurance were up by 1.75 per cent, 1.52 per cent, 1.27 per cent, 1.16 per cent, and 0.93 per cent respectively. Al Omaniya Financial Services, National Bank of Oman, Bank Dhofar, and Ominvest were down by 3.60 per cent, 2.94 per cent, 1.48 per cent, and 0.62 per cent respectively.
Industrial Index witnessed decline of 0.36 per cent before closing at 4,781.85 points. There were no gainers from the sector stocks on Wednesday. Oman Fisheries, Galfar Engineering, and Al Anwar Ceramic Tiles were down by 1.49 per cent, 1.18 per cent, and 0.95 per cent respectively.
Services index suffered the steepest decline and was down 0.87 per cent before closing at 1,963.97 points. OIFC closed at OMR0.091, higher by 2.25 per cent. Al Batinah Power, Al Suwadi Power, Phoenix Power, Renaissance Services, and Dhofar Generating were down by 5.00 per cent, 3.70 per cent, 2.35 per cent, 2.06 per cent, and 1.04 per cent respectively.