Saturday 21 / September / 2024
Muscat: Shares on the Muscat Securities Market (MSM) surged ahead with the general index crossing a psychological barrier of 6,000 point-mark on Monday.
The market has gained substantially in the recent past, mainly on account of a firm trend in crude oil prices in the international market and reinvestment of a portion of dividend income by investors. This has prompted foreign investors to extend their buying support in the local bourse. The MSM 30 Index – the barometer of market trend – closed at 6,019.51 points on Monday, up by 23.9 points over the previous closing.
The major gainers were National Gas, Raysut Cement, Port Services Corporation, HSBC Bank Oman and Oman International Development and Investment Company.
Companies listed on the Muscat Securities Market (MSM) must have paid more than OMR350 million by way of cash dividend for 2015.
As many as 130 companies are listed on the Muscat Securities Market, but a section of listed firms will not offer any dividend due to losses.
The Muscat bourse witnessed a surge in liquidity, which was reflected in traded volumes, which surged ahead by more than hundred per cent on several days.
The Muscat bourse surged by 8.69 per cent, or 475.3 points, to touch 5,467.72 points in April this year. Market turnover reached OMR126.04 million, with 722.28 million shares changing hands in April. Also, market capitalisation touched OMR17.01 billion by end-April, 2016.
