Sunday 24 / May / 2026
Muscat: The Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX) has announced an extension of its trading hours, effective from the beginning of June 2026. This decision is part of the Exchange’s ongoing efforts to enhance its operational infrastructure and improve the efficiency of the trading environment, aligning with global best practices and bolstering the Exchange’s competitiveness regionally and internationally.
This initiative is driven by a strategic objective to provide a broader time window for executing trade orders, thereby supporting liquidity levels, improving price discovery efficiency, and enhancing market stability and depth.
Under the new schedule, the Pre-Opening Session will run from 9:30 AM to 10:00 AM, followed by the Continuous Trading Session until 2:45 PM. Subsequently, the Pre-Closing Session will take place until 2:55 PM, followed by the Trading-at-Close Session until 3:00 PM, with the official market closing at 3:00 PM.
This update reflects the Exchange’s commitment to providing a more efficient trading structure that balances execution flexibility with pricing precision, particularly during the opening and closing phases.
Extending the trading hours represents a significant step toward harmonizing MSX’s trading timetable with those of regional and international counterpart exchanges. This alignment enhances opportunities for integration with global markets and empowers investors to engage with the Omani market within timeframes that better suit their investment strategies. Furthermore, the extension allows greater scope to react to economic developments and local, regional, and international news, positively impacting trading dynamics and market efficiency.
This update is expected to attract a wider investor base, particularly foreign investors, while also supporting liquidity levels and invigorating trading activity by distributing orders across a longer session. This reduces order concentration within limited time periods and improves execution quality.
This decision is part of an integrated framework of market development initiatives being implemented by the Exchange. These include strengthening the role of market makers and liquidity providers, upgrading the regulatory and operational infrastructure, and enhancing the investor experience through digital channels.
Haitham Salim Al Salmi, CEO of Muscat Stock Exchange, affirmed that extending the trading hours represents a strategic step in the Exchange’s development trajectory. He stated that the MSX seeks to build a more agile and efficient trading environment capable of responding to economic variables and enhancing the market’s investment appeal. He noted that aligning trading hours with regional and international markets contributes to integrating the Omani market into the global financial system and supports attracting investments, particularly from international investors.
He explained that this move provides a broader time window to respond to economic developments, thereby enhancing market efficiency and dynamism, supporting liquidity levels, and activating trading. He clarified that this initiative is part of a series of continuous efforts by the Exchange to develop the market’s core infrastructure, reinforce the role of market makers and liquidity providers, and improve the investor experience. This supports the creation of a deeper, more diversified financial market capable of attracting long-term investments and contributing effectively to economic growth, in line with the objectives of Oman Vision 2040.
He added that this extension is a continuation of the gradual developmental approach adopted by the MSX, focusing on enhancing operational efficiency and raising market readiness to meet the requirements of local and international investors. This helps establish a more competitive and sustainable investment environment and strengthens the market’s ability to keep pace with rapid transformations in global capital markets.
Al Salmi indicated that this step, alongside other Exchange-led initiatives, is expected to reinforce the market’s position as a central hub within the Sultanate of Oman’s investment ecosystem. It will also enhance its role in channeling capital toward promising economic sectors, thereby adding value to the national economy and meeting the aspirations of the next phase.
