MSM sentiment up after oil surge

20/03/2016 07:53 AST

After opening on a dismal note on the beginning of trading on last Sunday, the Muscat Securities Market made substantial gains towards the end of the week following a surge in oil prices. Oil hit a new 2016 high on Friday, after a triple-whammy boost from fresh optimism on a supply deal, UK plan to ease taxes on the North Sea industry and the US Federal Reserve monetary policy decision. The benchmark MSM30 advanced for two second consecutive sessions on Wednesday and Thursday to close at 5,326.67 points, up 0.35 per cent. “Although the local bourse witnessed stock specific activity, the ongoing dividend adjustments by companies and a rise in global oil prices gave the much-needed relief to the market”, said an analyst at a local brokerage house.

The sentiment is positive, we expect the market to witness better performance with more impact expected from dividend decisions, he added.

On the last day of trading on Thursday Bank Muscat led the bourse in terms of turnover, while Bank Nizwa was the most active in volume.

MSM Shariah Index closed 7 points up for the day. MSM30 Index Market Capitalization as at the end of the day stood at RO 5.941 billion.

A total number of 1,051 trades were executed on Thursday, generating turnover of RO 5.0 million with 21.9 million shares changing hands.

The Financial Index ended the day higher by 32 points, while the Industrial Index closed higher by 20 points and the Services Index advanced by 16 points. Omani investors continued to be net buyers to an extent of RO 676,000 shares. Foreign and GCC investors emerged as net sellers to an extent of RO 637,000 and RO 28,000 respectively. In the region most markets witnessed an uptrend.

Qatar Exchange’s benchmark index gained 39.53 points, or 0.38 per cent, during the last trading week when the bourse closed at 10,425.97 points. Trading value during the week increased by 24.75 per cent while the trading volume increased by 43 per cent to reach 74.8 million shares.

Saudi Arabia’s index rose 1.4 per cent in active trade after oil prices jumped above $40 a barrel on Wednesday.

The Dubai index surged 2.6 per cent as real estate blue chip Emaar Properties added 5.4 per cent. But Dubai Financial Market fell 1.4 per cent as it went ex-dividend. On the neighbouring NASDAQ Dubai exchange, port operator DP World gained 8.9 per cent to $19.05 after posting a 30.7 per cent rise in annual profit and setting its 2015 ordinary dividend at $0.30 per share, against $0.235 paid for 2014.

Abu Dhabi’s index climbed 3.0 per cent as Aldar Properties rose 3.8 per cent. The company said it would introduce a new formula to calculate its dividends from 2016 onwards, which could lead to higher payouts for shareholders.

The Cairo index jumped 3.6 per cent to 7,486 points in the second heaviest trading volume for the past seven years; the heaviest day of trade was on Monday, when the devaluation raised hopes that Egypt could attract more funds from abroad and begin resolving its endemic foreign exchange shortage.

Oman Daily Observer