Total trading volume on the Muscat Securities Market (MSM) in the first nine months of this year amounted to OMR946.5 million, a fall of 44.7 per cent from its level in the same period last year, which stood at OMR1.7 billion.
The market has been affected during the current year by a number of factors, most notably the drop in oil prices in global markets, which led to poor liquidity in the financial markets and the decline in foreign investments in the financial markets.
Among different months, February recorded the best trading volume at OMR176.6 million, followed by March with OMR129.4 million, driven by investor demand for shares to benefit from the dividends of listed companies in the market.
September recorded the lowest trading volume at OMR68.2 million due to weak investor sentiment because of continued decline in stock prices. In comparison to the first and second quarters, the third quarter recorded the lowest trading volume at OMR239.1 million, compared to OMR411.3 million and OMR296 million in the first and second quarters, respectively.
By the end of September, the main index of MSM closed at 5,787 points, a decline of 556 points from its level at the end of last year, which was 6,343 points.
The market capitalisation of listed companies in September grew by OMR29.4 million to touch OMR14.59 billion, benefiting from the inclusion of a number of new releases in the market stocks and bonds, in addition to the establishment of several companies to raise their capital after the dividend approved by the annual general assemblies.