MSM ends flat, looks for first quarter results

03/04/2016 06:48 AST

Although all the bourses in the region have been under the grip of volatility since the beginning of the year, the Muscat Securities Market ended the first quarter with a return of 1.1 per cent.

The last two weeks of the quarter saw the local bourse staging its strongest rally that continued for consecutive nine days.

But on the last two days of trading, the market witnessed a slight fall in the benchmark MSM 30 Index which closed flat at 5,467.42 points.

The MSM Shariah Index declined 0.38 per cent to close at 839.01 points. Analysts say that absence of fresh, positive news, and an overnight pull-back in oil prices might have caused the downtrend.

“Also the bourse may be waiting for the first quarter numbers to be announced by companies this month”, said an analyst at brokerage firm.

The ongoing major dividend adjustments in certain index heavyweights along with the traders sell-off coupled with low market participation also led to the change in the sentiments, he said. “We’ve come a long way back from the depths of despair six or seven weeks ago. We think between now and the end of the year the market grinds higher”, he added.

On the last day of closing, the Financial Index ended the day lower by 38 points, while the Services Index ended the day 13 points higher than its previous close. The Industry Index declined by 30 points.

Foreign Investors switched to net buyers for RO 56,000 while Omani Investors were net sellers for RO 44,000 followed by GCC and Arab investors for RO 12,000 worth of shares. MSM30 Index Market Capitalization as at the end of the day stood at RO 6.107 billion.

Galfar Engineering was the most active in terms of volume while Bank Muscat led in terms of turnover. Al Hassan Engineering, up 5.13 per cent remained the top gainer while Oman United Insurance was the day’s top loser, down 7.95 per cent. At the same time, the trend was mixed in the region.

Dubai’s index slipped 0.1 per cent in the first hour. Shuaa Capital added a further 1.2 per cent in active trade after jumping its 15 per cent daily limit on Wednesday, but Union Properties fell 0.8 per cent.

There was active trade in several stocks that hit record lows earlier this year and have been rebounding in recent weeks on the grounds that they were oversold.

Saudi Arabia’s index closed the day 0.1 per cent higher at 6,223 points. It lost as much as 23 per cent during the first quarter but ultimately finished only 10 per cent lower after oil prices bounced from below $30 a barrel to around $40.

Petrochemical shares were weaker, with the sector’s index falling 0.5 per cent. Hospital operator Middle East Healthcare fell back 6.5 per cent after jumping its 10 per cent daily limit for two straight days following its listing on Tuesday.

Abu Dhabi’s index edged down 0.1 per cent as Waha Capital plunged 10 per cent as it went ex-dividend.

Qatar rose 0.6 per cent as Qatar Gas Transport, the most heavily traded stock, added 1.7 per cent. But Gulf Warehousing fell 1.5 per cent. It soared last week when the Qatar Central Securities Depository raised the maximum foreign ownership percentage for its shares to 49 per cent of capital, but pulled back this week as no rapid, major increase in actual foreign ownership, now at 25.6 per cent, materialised.

Oman Daily Observer