Muscat: The main index of the Muscat Stock Exchange recorded an increase of about 30 points during last week's trading, closing at 4,960 points, maintaining its gains for the ninth consecutive week. In contrast, sectoral indices witnessed a decline amid a noticeable rise in sell offers from individual investors.

According to Qatar News Agency, stock prices pressured the sectoral indices, leading to a collective decline. The Industrial Sector Index recorded the highest losses, falling by 79 points, followed by the Services Sector Index with a loss of 25 points. The Sharia Index dropped by 6 points to close at 470 points, while the Financial Sector Index declined by 4 points, ending the week's trading at 8,167 points.

The Muscat Stock Exchange saw notable gains last week in terms of market value and trading volume. The market value of listed securities rose to OMR29.6 billion, marking a weekly increase of OMR42.8 million. Trading value also increased by 3.1%, surpassing OMR125 million compared to OMR121.2 million the previous week.

Conversely, executed transactions declined from 13,709 to 10,210, registering a drop of 25.5%. Individual investors tended toward selling during last week's trading in an attempt to realize profits after the price increases recorded in previous weeks. Their sales accounted for about 24% of the total trading value, compared to purchases at 19.3%. Selling pressure contributed to the decline in share prices of 44 companies, while the share prices of 21 companies rose, and the prices of 27 companies remained unchanged.