MUSCAT: Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX) recorded active trading in Q1 2024 with investors diversifying their portfolios to include banks, investment companies, telecommunications, energy companies, as well as the bond and sukuk market, and modern companies that turned into public joint-stock companies last year and attracted investors since being listed on the exchange.
The value of trading in Q1 reached RO 304.3 million, up by 58.8 per cent compared to around RO 191.4 million in the same period last year, with the number of executed transactions increasing from 44,000 to over 66,000, and the traded securities rising from 755.9 million to 1.8976 billion.
February recorded the highest trading value at around RO 129.8 million, followed by January at RO 90 million, while March ranked third with RO 84.4 million.
Statistics from MSX showed an increase in trading value on Sohar International Bank stock to RO 65.3 million in Q1, accounting for 21.4 per cent of the total trading value. Sohar International Bank saw the latest merger in the banking sector last year after merging through absorption with HSBC Bank Oman, which left trading screens by mid-2023.
OQ Gas Networks witnessed trading in Q1 with a value of RO 32.8 million, representing about 11 per cent of the total trading volume. The company was listed on the MSX in October last year after offering a portion of its capital for public subscription. The telecommunications services provider, Awasr, which turned into a public joint-stock company last year, attracted good investor interest to record trading in Q1at RO 9.2 million.
Bank Muscat and Omantel maintained their attractiveness to investors with Bank Muscat seeing trading of around RO 23 million, while trading value on Omantel's stock amounted to RO 15.7 million.
Energy sector stocks in February and March were able to attract investors after several positive financial results disclosures, with SMN Power Holding shares trading at RO 9.7 million. Investors also focused on shares of Al Suwadi Energy, Al Batinah Power, Barka Water & Power, Salalah Methanol, and Phoenix Energy, among other energy companies.
In the bond and sukuk market, the trading value reached RO 51.5 million, representing 16.9 per cent of the total trading value, with the sixth issuance of sovereign sukuk securities being the most traded financial instruments in the bonds and sukuk market at RO 10.7 million. The 64th issuance of government development bonds ranked second at RO 9.1 million, followed by the third issuance of sovereign sukuk with trading of around RO 8.1 million.
MSX main index performed well in Q1, rising by 121 points compared to a 5-point increase in the first quarter of the previous year, closing at 4635 points at the end of March. The services sector index recorded the highest gains, closing at 1847 points, up by 282 points, benefiting from the increases in energy company shares. The industry sector index increased by 182 points, while the financial sector index declined by 34 points influenced by the fluctuation of bank stocks, and the Shari'a index dropped by 7 points closing at 439 points.
The market capitalisation of securities listed on MSX in Q1 gained by around RO 122 million, reaching RO 23.924 billion by the end of March. — ONA
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