Saturday 02 / May / 2026
Muscat: The Muscat Stock Exchange recorded a positive performance in April, despite the correction movement it witnessed, which reduced the gains of the main index and sectoral indices.
Trading value rose last month to OMR1.5413 billion, bringing the total trading value for the past four months to about OMR5.1 billion, compared to OMR538.3 million in the same period last year, benefiting from increased demand for shares and the injection of more liquidity into the stock exchange by local investment funds and institutions.
Trading value over the past four months has seen a successive increase from OMR836.8 million in January to OMR1.2947 billion in February, to OMR1.4264 billion in March, and then to more than OMR1.5 billion in April. The total number of transactions executed in April amounted to more than 131,000, compared to 115,000 in March and 122,000 transactions in February.
Trading May was concentrated on Bank Sohar International shares, which saw trading worth OMR359.3 million, equivalent to 23.3 percent of the total trading value. The share rose 9 baisa and closed at 238 baisa. OQ Basic Industries shares also saw high trading volumes of OMR301.2 million, representing 19.5 percent of the total trading value.
The share recorded an increase of 26 baisa last month and closed at 316 baisa. Bank Muscat ranked third among the most traded companies in terms of trading value of OMR239.8 million, representing 15.5 percent of the total trading value. The share recorded a decline of 10 baisa last month and closed at 476 baisa, despite rising in early trading to 496 baisa before the stock exchange experienced a short correction wave.
OQ Exploration and Production (OQEP) shares saw trading at OMR176.2 million, accounting for 11.4 percent of the total trading value. The share rose to 517 baisa by the end of last month, recording an increase of 34 baisa. Omantel was among the five most traded companies in terms of trading value at OMR144.1 million, representing 9.3 percent of the total trading value. The share closed at the end of last month at OMR1.550, down one baisa from its level in March.
The Muscat Stock Exchange was affected last month by a short correction wave on some stocks, which reduced the gains of the main index, which recorded an increase of 201 points in April, compared to an increase of 775 points in March and 1063 points in February. The main index recorded an increase of 2500 points in the past four months and managed to break 3 historical record levels to conclude April trading at about 8370 points.
The correction wave included a limited group of stocks that had recorded record highs in recent weeks, such as Bank Muscat, Omantel, and a number of industrial and service companies. The financial sector index recorded the highest gains, rising 388 points and closing above 13,200 points. The industrial sector index rose 314 points and closed at 10,190 points. The services sector index recorded an increase of 97 points and closed at 3,267 points. The Sharia index rose 10 points and closed at 656 points.
Last month, the prices of 66 securities rose, compared to 31 securities whose prices declined and 14 securities that remained unchanged at their previous levels. The share of Fincorp recorded the highest rise, increasing by 143 percent from 51 baisa to 124 baisa. The share of Oman and Emirates Investment Holding Company rose by 53 percent from 115 baisa to 176 baisa. The share of Raysut Cement Company rose from 128 baisa to 189 baisa, recording an increase of 47 percent. The share had jumped in trading last month to 240 baisa before reducing its gains. The share of Muscat Insurance rose by 41.3 percent and closed at 820 baisa. The share of Al Batinah Development and Investment rose to 95 baisa, recording an increase of 35 percent.
Salalah Mills shares led the decliners, falling by 16.6 percent to close at 650 baisa. SMN Power Holding shares fell by 13 percent to close at 220 baisa, Oman Finance Services shares dropped by 12.6 percent to close at 166 baisa, and Dhofar Refreshments and Foodstuffs shares declined by 9 percent to close at 182 baisa.
