Oman shares fall on weak sentiment

Shares on the Muscat Securities Market edged down on weak sentiment. The MSM30 Index ended the session with minimal loss of 0.03 per cent to close at 5,764.96 points. The MSM Sharia index closed at 859.92 points, up by 0.05 per cent. Al Madina Takaful was the most active in terms of volume, while Oman Telecommunications Company led in terms of turnover. Construction Materials, which was up by 9.398 per cent, was the top gainer while Galfar Engineering was the top loser with a loss of 2.22 per cent.

As many as 978 trades were executed on Wednesday, generating a turnover of OMR5.06 million with 26.2 million shares changing hands. Out of 45 traded securities, 16 advanced, nine declined and 20 remained unchanged. Omani investors remained net buyers of OMR936,000 while foreign investors were net sellers of OMR803,000 followed by GCC and Arab investors of OMR133,000 worth of shares. 

Financial Index advanced 0.38 per cent to close at 7,990.21 points. Al Madina Investments, Al Madina Takaful, Bank Nizwa, Oman Orix Leasing and Oman United Insurance gained 8.33 per cent, 5.49 per cent, 1.15 per cent, 0.78 per cent and 0.56 per cent, respectively. Takaful Oman, National Bank of Oman and Al Anwar Holding declined by 1.10 per cent, 0.83 per cent and 0.53 per cent, respectively.

Industrial Index declined by 0.06 per cent to close at 7,605.94 points. Construction Materials, Al Jazeera Steel and National Aluminium increased by 9.38 per cent, 1.14 per cent and 0.56 per cent, respectively. Galfar Engineering and Raysut Cement declined by 2.22 per cent and 0.69 per cent, respectively.

Services Index ended at 3,020.13 points, up by 0.16 per cent. Sohar Power, Al Suwadi Power, Pheonix Power, Al Batinah Power and Renaissance Services gained by 2.22 per cent, 1.62 per cent, 0.69 per cent, 0.54 per cent and 0.47 per cent, respectively. Al Jazeera Services, Oman Investment and Finance Company, Oman Telecommunications Company and Al Maha Petroleum declined by 2.06 per cent, 0.91 per cent, 0.35 per cent and 0.31 per cent, respectively.

Indian shares advance

Stocks came good for the third day as the Sensex on Wednesday returned to its pre-demonetisation level by jumping 333 points to end at a nearly 3-month high of 27,708 on the back of strong earnings amid positive global feelers.

The NSE Nifty went past the 8,600-mark for the first time since November 1.

Covering of pending short positions following the expiry of the January futures and options contracts on Wednesday and positive earnings by some companies aided sentiment. Stock exchanges will be shut Thursday for the Republic Day.

After a positive start, the 30-share Sensex rose further and settled up 332.56 points, or 1.21 per cent, at 27,708.14 — a level last seen on November 1 when it had closed at 27,876.61. It hit an intra-day high of 27,736.83.

The gauge had rallied 341.08 points in the previous two sessions.

Also, the 50-issue NSE Nifty ended at 8,602.75, up 126.95 points, or 1.50 per cent, after moving between 8,612.60 and 8,493.95.

"Market had come to the pre-demonetisation level supported by the ongoing quarterly results which largely survived the expected slowdown. Positive global cues also added excitement in the market rally," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.

Banking, metal, auto and consumer durables stocks were in fine nick, lifting the key indices.

Mood was aided by optimism ahead of the Union budget on February 1 amid a firming trend in Asia and Europe following overnight record close in the US on hopes of fresh spending by new US President Donald Trump, traders said.

The banking index advanced the most by surging 2.33 per cent, followed by consumer durables (2.26 per cent), oil and gas (1.75 per cent), PSU (1.64 per cent) and metal (1.39 per cent).

HDFC Ltd emerged as the top gainer in the Sensex kitty, climbing 4.31 per cent, followed by Adani Ports (up 3.61 per cent). HDFC Bank surged 1.56 per cent after the lender on Wednesday reported 15.04 per cent growth in net profit for the December quarter.

Maruti Suzuki advanced 1 per cent after 47.46 per cent jump in standalone quarterly net profit. Other biggies that gained were Hero MotoCorp, Axis Bank, Coal India, L&T, ITC Ltd, M&M and SBI.

But Bharti Airtel plunged 1.52 per cent on nervous selling after net profit for October-December took a hit of over 54 per cent due to a tariff war.

Overall, 23 advanced and 7 ended in the red.

The broader markets showed an uptrend, with BSE mid-cap rising 0.90 per cent and small-cap 0.87 per cent.

Japan's Nikkei ended up 1.43 per cent, with Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng firming up too. Europe traded strong, with Frankfurt, Paris and London's FTSE rising by up to 1.13 per cent in the late session.

Source :Times Of Oman