Oman’s Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX) recorded a significant increase in market value of approximately OMR3.8 billion ($9.87 billion) last year, driven by rising share prices of several listed companies, capital increases by some firms and the listing of new companies in the closed market.
By the end of 2024, the total market value of securities listed on the Muscat Stock Exchange climbed to OMR27.595 billion. Of this, publicly listed companies contributed OMR12.332 billion, reflecting a gain of OMR3.365 billion.
“Oman ranked as the third-best performing market in the GCC during 2024 after registering the biggest decline in the region in 2023,” stated Kamco Invest in a recent report.
New company listings propel growth
The closed market also saw its value rise to OMR10.953 billion by the end of 2024, an increase of OMR550 million. However, the bonds and sukuk market declined by OMR122.3 million, closing at around OMR4.309 billion.
New company listings contributed to an 11 percent rise in trading value to OMR1.257 billion in 2024 compared to OMR1.132 billion in 2023. The number of executed transactions on the Muscat Stock Exchange also grew by a significant 39 percent, from 184,000 to over 257,000 trades.
The MSX main index ended the year with a 62-point gain, closing at 4,576 points. The financial sector index rose by 333 points, closing at 7,725 points, while the services sector index posted the highest percentage gain among all indices, up 11.3 percent (177 points) to close at 1,743 points.
In contrast, the industrial sector index fell by 204 points to 5,270 points while the Sharia-compliant index dropped by 21 points to close at 425 points.
Throughout the year, stock prices of 61 securities on the Muscat Stock Exchange increased, while 59 experienced declines and 19 remained stable. Energy companies led growth, recovering from challenges faced in 2022 and 2023. On the other hand, industrial companies recorded the most significant losses.
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Barka Water and Power leads gains
Kamco Invest also revealed that Barka Water and Power led the Muscat Stock Exchange’s gainers’ list for 2024 with a multifold surge in its share price during the year, followed by SMN Power Holding and Al Batinah Power, which posted share price increases of 356.6 percent and 230 percent, respectively.
On the decliners’ side, Galfar Engineering & Contracting recorded the largest loss, with its share price falling 55 percent over the year. Financial Corporation and Majan Glass followed, shedding 45 percent and 39.1 percent of their respective share values during 2024.
The newly listed OQ Exploration and Production topped the yearly value traded chart for the fourth consecutive year with OMR253 million worth of shares changing hands during the year. Abraj Energy Services and Sohar International Bank followed as the second and third recording value traded at OMR139.8 million and OMR123.7 million, respectively.
On the other hand, Sohar International Bank led the way in terms of volume traded during the year with nearly 1 billion shares traded during the year against 293.9 million shares in 2023, followed by OQ Exploration and Production and OQ Gas Networks with 673.7 million and 525 million in trades shares for each of these stocks, respectively.
