Weak trend continues on Muscat bourse

Weak sentiment prevailed on the Muscat bourse on Tuesday. The MSM30 index ended on a flat note to close at 5,795.71 points, down by 0.07 per cent. The MSM Sharia Index closed at 859.31 points, down by 0.10 per cent. Al Anwar Holding was the most active in terms of volume while Oman Cables was the most active in terms of turnover. Oman Textile Holding remained the top gainer, up 9.83 per cent while Al Hassan Engineering was the top loser, down 5.45 per cent.

As many as 868 trades were executed on Tuesday, generating turnover of OMR4 million with 13.33 million shares changing hands. Out of 43 traded securities, 8 advanced, 14 declined and 21 remained unchanged. Omani investors were net buyers for OMR823,000 while foreign investors were net sellers for OMR654,000 followed by GCC and Arab investors for OMR169,000 worth of shares. 

Financial Index marginally gained by 0.04 per cent to close at 8,214.16 points. HSBC Bank Oman and Bank Nizwa increased by 1.54 per cent and 1.11 per cent, respectively. Al Anwar Holding, Al Madina Investment, Al Madina Takaful and Al Sharqiya Investment declined by 2.84 per cent, 1.43 per cent, 1.01 per cent and 0.78 per cent, respectively.

Industrial Index marginally gained by 0.05 per cent to finish at 8005.12 points. Oman Textile Holding, Oman Flour Mills, Raysut Cement and National Aluminium increased by 9.83 per cent, 3.41 per cent, 0.70 per cent and 0.57 per cent, respectively. Oman Fisheries, Galfar Engineering, Al Anwar Ceramics and Gulf International Chemicals declined by 2.73 per cent, 2.17 per cent, 1.21 per cent and 0.34 per cent, respectively.

Services Index fell by 0.26 per cent to close at 3,018.22 points. ACWA Power Barka was the only gainer in the sector and was up by 1.10 per cent to close at OMR0.732. OIFC, Ooredoo Oman, Al Jazeira Services and Port Services declined by 2.15 per cent, 1.36 per cent, 1.01 per cent and 0.99 per cent, respectively

European stocks fall

European stocks drifted lower, setting the tone for global equities as investors decide whether a recent rally is correcting or merely taking a break. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was poised to drop a fourth day, as the region’s utility companies retreated while auto shares bounced. Futures for the S&P 500 also slipped following a drop in US equities on Monday, when JPMorgan Chase & Co. warned that hawkish Federal Reserve rhetoric has increased the chances of a short-term pullback.

Meanwhile, data suggesting demand from central banks for Europe’s safest debt spurred government bonds led by Germany. Copper, iron ore and zinc paced the retreat in metals.

Bets the global economy is strong enough to withstand rising borrowing costs helped stoke stock gauges to records last week, even as a US interest rate hike this month seemed to become a near certainty. With valuations on the S&P 500 near the highest since 2002 and after the longest weekly rally in 16 months, investors now seem to be waiting for a fresh catalyst.

“Financial market sentiment behaves like a boat tacking into a moderate headwind: progress is being made, albeit choppily,” Kit Juckes, a London-based global strategist at Societe Generale SA, wrote in a note. “The headwind, of course, is the Fed, and the painfully slow grind higher in rates, especially 10-year Treasury yields.”

The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.2 per cent as of 7:03 a.m. in New York, after a 0.5 per cent drop on Monday. Futures on the S&P 500 declined 0.2 per cent, after the benchmark index lost 0.3 per cent on Monday. The index has gained 6.1 per cent in 2017.

Source : Times Of Oman