25/05/2015 02:04 AST
Oman's general index — MSM30 Index — ended on a negative note to close at 6375.43 points, down by 0.12 per cent. The MSM Sharia Index was marginally down by 0.05 per cent to close at 985.25 points. Bank Muscat was the most active in terms of volume as well as turnover. Sunday's top gainer was Oman Fisheries, up by 1.89 per cent, while National Mineral Water, down by 3.90 per cent, was the top loser for the day.
As many as 521 trades were executed during the day's trading session generating turnover of OMR1.90 million with more than 7.56 million shares changing hands. Out of 49 traded securities, 10 advanced, 18 declined and 21 remained unchanged. Omani investors were net buyers for OMR282,000 while GCC and Arab investors were net sellers for OMR271,000 followed by Foreign investors for OMR11,000 worth of shares.
Financial Index closed at 7762.31 points, marginally down by 0.07 per cent. Bank Nizwa , Al Madina Investment, United Finance, National Bank of Oman and Bank Sohar increased by 1.33 per cent, 0.76 per cent, 0.63 per cent and 0.54 per cent, respectively. Oman & Emirates, Al Sharqiya Investment, Oman United Insurance and ONIC Holding declined by 2.68 per cent, 2.26 per cent, 1.32 per cent and 1.31 per cent, respectively.
Industrial Index closed at 8308.17 points, down by 0.07 per cent. Oman Fisheries, Oman Flour Mills, Voltamp Energy and Al Anwar Ceramics increased by 1.89 per cent, 0.80 per cent, 0.51 per cent and 0.48 per cent, respectively. National Mineral Water, Construction Material Industries, Galfar Engineering and Al Hassan Engineering declined by 3.90 per cent, 2.56 per cent, 1.58 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively.
Services Sector Index was down by 0.14 per cent to close at 3,447.83 points. Oman Telecommunication, Renaissance Services and Al Suwadi Power declined by 0.90 per cent, 0.57 per cent and 0.52 per cent respectively.
Dubai stocks decline
Real estate and construction companies dragged Dubai's stocks to the lowest in five weeks as gauges across the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) retreated.
Dubai's DFM General Index lost 1.7 per cent to close at 4,049.98, pulled lower by a two per cent decrease in the Dubai Financial Market Real Estate Index. Emaar Properties, the developer with the biggest weighting on the gauge, dropped the most since May 4. Arabtec Holding slipped to the lowest since April 2 after Egypt reportedly ended talks with the construction company to build one million housing units.
"It's more of a knee-jerk reaction from retail investors on Arabtec," Ahmed Shehada, the head of advisory and institutions at NBAD Securities LLC, the brokerage of the United Arab Emirates' biggest bank, said by phone. "There's nothing from the company or the Egyptian government and the market is awaiting clarity."
The Egyptian government rejected Arabtec's conditions to fund the project from local banks, Cairo-based Al Mal newspaper reported today, citing a Housing Ministry official it didn't identify. The company's spokesman didn't immediately respond to requests for comment by e-mail or telephone.
The stalled project would be a blow to Arabtec, whose shares never fully recovered from a 65 per cent slump between May and June last year as Chief Executive Officer Hasan Ismaik resigned and a number of top managers were dismissed. Chairman Khadem Al Qubaisi and founder Riad Kamal were are also excluded from the board this year. Arabtec retreated 3.3 percent to 2.33 dirhams and Emaar dropped 1.5 per cent to 8.08 dirhams.
Times of Oman
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