Saturday 27 / December / 2025
Muscat: Banks attracted investors in during the week’s trading on the Muscat Stock Exchange, returning to the forefront before the end of trading in 2025, benefiting from the buying interest of local investment funds and institutions.
Trading in bank shares during the week amounted to OMR82.6 million, representing 46.9 percent of the total trading value witnessed by the Muscat Stock Exchange during the week, which amounted to OMR175.9 million.
Bank Muscat led these trades worth OMR46.6 million, followed by Bank Sohar International with trades amounting to OMR30.8 million and Bank Dhofar reported trades worth OMR2.3 million.
These trades come at a time when investors are rebuilding their investment portfolios ahead of the end of this year's trading and the announcement of financial results for companies listed on the Muscat Stock Exchange.
The investors' appetite for bank stocks was reflected in the financial sector index, which recorded a rise of 249 points during the week and closed at 9,962 points, up by 2.5 percent. The National Bank of Oman's stock recorded the highest rise among the seven banks listed on the Muscat Stock Exchange, rising by 9.4 percent and closing at 186 baisa. The Oman Arab Bank's stock rose by 5.9 percent and closed at 178 baisa. The Bank of Muscat's stock rose to 341 baisa, up by 3 baisa. The shares of Bank Sohar International, National Bank of Oman, and Bank Nizwa each recorded a rise of one point, while the Bank of Dhofar's stock closed stable at 148 baisa.
The Muscat Stock Exchange witnessed mixed performance in the week, with the prices of 37 securities declining, compared to 35 securities whose prices rose and 21 securities that remained unchanged at their previous levels. The value of trading decreased by 16.3 percent to fall to OMR175.9 million, compared to OMR210.8 million in the week before, and the number of transactions executed decreased from more than 19,000 transactions to 17,222.
The main index of the Muscat Stock Exchange recorded an increase of 15 points and closed at 5,956 points, the industrial sector index rose by 4 points, and the Sharia index recorded an increase of one point, while the services sector index declined by 14 points and closed at 2,429 points, affected by the decline in the shares of Ooredoo, Omantel, Asyad Shipping, OQ Exploration and Production and a number of other shares.
OQ Group shares saw high trading volumes last week, with OQ Basic Industries trading at OMR21.4 million, OQ Gas Networks trading at OMR19.4 million and OQ Exploration and Production trading at OMR18.6 million. The three companies accounted for 33.8 percent of the total trading value on the Muscat Stock Exchange during the week.
The market capitalisation of the Muscat Stock Exchange rose to OMR32.21 billion by the end of Thursday ’s trading, recording weekly gains of OMR72.7 million, benefiting from the rises recorded by many leading stocks.
The Omani free finance bonds issued in 2023 topped the list of the most rising securities after they rose by 14 percent and closed at 57 baisa. Al Anwar Investments shares rose by 11.5 percent and closed at 116 baisa. Dhofar Food and Investment shares jumped by 9.4 percent and closed at 81 baisa. Ahli Bank shares ranked fourth, rising by 9.4 percent and closing at 186 baisa. Salalah Port Services shares rose by 9 percent and closed at 360 baisa.
The financial services stock led the losing stocks, declining by 20 percent and closing at 60 baisa. Majan Glass stock declined by 10 percent and closed at 18 baisa. Raysut Cement stock recorded a decline of 5 percent and closed at 95 baisa. International Financial Investments Holding stock fell by 3.2 percent and closed at 207 baisa. Oman Qatar Insurance stock declined to 185 baisa, recording a decline of 3.1 percent.
