11/10/2015 07:27 AST
Although stocks in some of the bourses in the region largely remained unmoved on the last day of trading on Thursday, the Muscat Securities Market (MSM) ended on a positive note.
The benchmark MSM30 Index closed at 5,867.41 points, up by 0.12 per cent. The MSM Sharia Index increased 0.09 per cent to close at 909.28 points.
While, the Financial Index closed the day higher by 33 points, the Services Index advanced by 6 points and the Industry Index closed the day in red by 12 points.
Bank Nizwa was the most active in terms of volume while Omantel was the most active in terms of turnover. Oman Fisheries was the day’s top gainer, up by 5.66 per cent, while ahlibank, down by 2 per cent, was the top loser.
The MSM30 Index Market Capitalization as at the end of the day stood at RO 6.655 billion.
Although the local bourse witnessed one of the worst performances during the past quarter, analysts expect investor focus to shift to the fundamentals ahead of the earnings period.
In September, the overall traded volumes stood at 247.5 million, while the total market turnover for the month stood at RO 68.285 million. Average daily market turnover dropped to RO 3.41 million in the month as compared to RO 4.49 million in August.
On the participation side, GCC and foreign Investors ended as net sellers to an extent of RO 1.911 million and RO 2.734 million respectively for the month. We saw relentless selling from foreign investors. Omani Investors emerged as net buyers to an extent of RO 4.682 million.
“Historically in the fourth quarter, the MSM and regional equities used to see improved trading activity looking at dividends and re-shuffling of portfolios looking at year-end perspective. While for the month, we expect the markets to take direction from the third quarter earnings season”, analysts at Gulf Baader Capital Market said in a research note.
While advising the investors to adopt a cautious approach, the analysts said it is better to “follow a bottom-up approach with focus to remain on strong fundamentals and deep valuations”.
The outlook for Oman and the regional equities remain equally challenging amid prevailing uncertainties and risk aversion, they said.
“The regional economies are expected to undergo a transition phase where we would see a change in government policies towards the expenditure programme, subsidy reforms and the deficit funding efforts”, the analysts said in the report.
Of the 44 traded securities on Thursday, 14 advanced, 13 declined and 17 remained unchanged. At the session close, GCC and Arab Investors were net buyers for RO 256,000 while Omani investors were net sellers for RO 138,000 followed by Foreign Investors for RO 118,000 worth of shares.
In the region, the Dubai Financial Market General Index closed 0.1 per cent lower at 3,706.48, its first negative close since Sunday last.
Abu Dhabi shares ended 0.9 per cent lower at 4,546.46 on a day of thin trading, with less than 47 million shares changing hands.
In Egypt the news that Orascom Telecom Media and Technology is seeking to buy Beltone Financial boosted the market on Thursday, while Saudi Arabia’s market was narrowly mixed after oil prices pulled back.
Saudi Arabia’s index, which had jumped 1.9 per cent on Wednesday in response to a leap in oil prices, was flat after Brent oil dropped back to about $51.80 a barrel from $52.90.
Meanwhile, the slowdown of China, and expectation of higher interest rates in the US, is causing increased volatility in global financial markets.
Oman Daily Observer
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