MSM index ends lower

Galfar Engineering, up by 1.23 per cent, was the top gainer while the top loser was Oman & Emirates Holding with a loss of 6.87 per cent.

MUSCAT: Weakness in crude prices impacted regional indices and the MSM30 declined 0.47 per cent to close at 5,450.28 points. The MSM Sharia Index ended at 795.49 points, down 0.70 per cent. Al Madina Takaful remained the most active in terms of volume while Bank Muscat led in terms of turnover. Up 1.23 per cent, Galfar Engineering was the top gainer while the top loser was Oman & Emirates Holding with a loss of 6.87 per cent.

As many as 501 trades were executed on Sunday, generating a turnover of OMR2.48 million with 11.86 million shares changing hands. Out of 38 traded securities, 4 advanced, 20 declined, and 14 remained unchanged. GCC and Arab investors were net buyers for OMR364,000 while foreign investors were net sellers for OMR225,000 followed by Omani investors for OMR139,000 worth of shares.

Financial Index closed at 8,002.30 points, down 0.41 per cent. Bank Dhofar and NBO gained 0.44 per cent and 0.44 per cent respectively. Oman & Emirate Holding, Gulf Investment Services, Al Sharqia Investments, Al Madina Investments and Bank Nizwa declined 6.87 per cent, 5.98 per cent, 2.54 per cent, 1.47 per cent and 1.06 per cent respectively.

Industrial Index had sharp loss of 0.89 per cent to finish at 7,436.92 points. Galfar Engineering and Gulf International Chemicals increased 1.23 per cent and 0.84 per cent respectively. Raysut Cement, Al Anwar Ceramics, Oman Fisheries, Voltamp Energy and Al Maha Ceramics declined 3.04 per cent, 2.72 per cent, 2.68 per cent, 2.16 per cent and 1.60 per cent respectively.

Services Index ended at 2,803.60 points, down 0.44 per cent. Al Jazeera Services, Al Suwadi Power, Phoenix Power, OIFC and Omantel declined 1.83 per cent, 1.64 per cent, 1.50 per cent, 1.40 per cent and 0.76 per cent respectively.

Dubai shares drop

Shares of Dubai builder Drake & Scull (DSI) slumped to a 14-month low in heavy trade early on Sunday morning as investors worried about its capital restructuring, while petrochemicals weighed on Saudi Arabian stocks after crude oil prices tumbled.

Dubai’s stock index fell 0.5 per cent as DSI dropped 8.6 per cent to 0.405 dirham after a shareholder meeting held on Thursday.

Shareholders “unanimously expressed no interest” in a Dh500 million ($136 million) capital increase via a new share issue at Dh1 per share, the company said.

It added that Tabarak Investment, a Dubai-based investment firm, had agreed to buy the shares, which would be issued if the securities regulator approved a further capital reduction by DSI. Abu Dhabi’s index dipped 0.3 per cent as Dana Gas fell 2.3 per cent.

All but two of 14 listed Saudi petrochemical makers fell after Brent crude dropped below $50 at the end of last week. Heavyweight Saudi Basic Industries retreated 1.0 per cent; the main market index was down 0.4 per cent after 45 minutes of trade.

Saudi Arabian Mining Co (Ma’aden), however, rose 0.2 per cent after the company made a first-quarter net profit of SR275.6 million ($73.5 million), up 41.9 per cent from a year ago and beating the average analyst forecast of Dh167.9 million.

Ma’aden attributed the profit rise to a 20 per cent jump in sales volumes of all products and an 18 per cent increase in the average price of aluminium.