Saturday 10 / January / 2026
Muscat: The main index of the Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX) recorded its highest level in ten years last week, closing above the 6,100-point level for the first time since 2015. The strong performance was supported by increased purchases from local investment funds and institutions, amid expectations of improved financial results and higher profitability of listed companies.
Trading activity on the MSX last week reflected growing investor confidence at the start of 2026, as investors awaited the announcement of preliminary financial results of public shareholding companies. On January 5, the index breached the 6,000-point threshold, reaching its highest level since May 2016, and continued its upward trajectory to close the week at 6,126 points, its best level since August 2015.
The index recorded gains of 230 points, doubling the increase of the previous week, supported by strong performance across investment, banking, industrial, and service companies, which drove sector indices higher.
The financial sector index recorded the largest gains, rising 588 points to close at 10,572 points. The industrial sector index increased by 284 points, the services sector index rose by 76 points, while the Sharia index gained 27 points, closing at 556 points.
The upward momentum was supported by leading companies, including Bank Muscat, Bank Dhofar, National Bank of Oman, OQ Gas Networks, Ominvest, Voltamp Energy, Al Safa Foods, Al Jazeera Steel Products, Omantel, Ooredoo, in addition to several finance, energy, and industrial firms.
During the week, prices of 61 securities increased, while 14 securities declined, and 15 securities remained unchanged.
The market capitalization of securities listed on the MSX rose by OMR 815.2 million, closing Thursday’s trading at OMR 32.932 billion, driven by rising share prices and new listings in the bond, sukuk, and closed companies market.
Last week also witnessed the listing of the tenth issue of sovereign sukuk, valued at OMR 200 million, as well as the listing of the capital increase of Eshraq Sembcorp Jinko on the closed market, raising the company’s capital to OMR 48.4 million.
Trading value surged by 65 percent, exceeding OMR 266 million, compared to OMR 160.5 million in the previous week. The number of executed transactions rose by 22 percent to 26,686 transactions.
Sohar International Bank shares attracted the highest trading value, amounting to OMR 66.6 million, representing 25 percent of total trading value. OQ Exploration and Production came second with OMR 38.4 million, followed by Bank Muscat with OMR 35.1 million, OQ Basic Industries with OMR 28.1 million, and Asyad Shipping with OMR 23.3 million, representing 8.7 percent of total trading.
Among the top gainers, Lifa mandatory convertible bonds (2024) recorded the highest increase, rising 36 percent to close at 98 baisa. Al Sharqiyah Investment rose 13.5 percent to 109 baisa, Dhofar Food and Investment gained 13.1 percent to 95 baisa, Ominvest increased 12.9 percent to 375 baisa, and Bank Nizwa rose 11.9 percent to 122 baisa.
On the other hand, Majan Glass led the list of declining stocks, falling 22.2 percent to 14 baisa. Muscat Insurance declined 11.3 percent to 700 baisa, Oman Cables Industry fell 4.3 percent to OMR 2.535, Musandam Power declined 3.6 percent to 318 baisa, and Oman Cement fell 3.5 percent to 483 baisa.
In company disclosures, Oman Qatar Telecommunications Company (Ooredoo) announced that the Ooredoo Group agreed to exempt Ooredoo Oman from service fees for one year in support of the company’s performance during the 2025 financial year. The exemption is estimated at OMR 7.1 million, and is expected to have a positive impact of approximately OMR 6.3 million on the company’s net profits for 2025.
