Muscat – GCC stock markets dropped for the third straight month as the Israel-Hamas conflict continued, resulting in investors reducing their exposure to the region. Trading reports for the region showed that foreign investors were net sellers in GCC markets in October, indicating concerns about geopolitical tensions spreading to the larger region.

The decline in October was widespread in the GCC, with all markets in the red during the month, according to a report published by Kuwait-based Kamco Investment on Wednesday.

According to the report, the Qatari exchange was the biggest decliner among GCC markets in October, with a 7.1% decrease. Dubai’s DFM General Index recorded the second-largest decline in the GCC during October. The Dubai benchmark dropped by 6.9% during the month, marking the first decline after six consecutive months of gains since April.

The Kuwaiti benchmark witnessed a 5.2% drop in October, the largest monthly decline in 13 months, following a broad-based decline that affected most sectors in the region as well as globally. The Saudi Stock Exchange saw a monthly decline of 3.3% in October, its largest monthly drop since March. On the other hand, Abu Dhabi’s ADX Index fell by 4.5% during October.

Oman’s Muscat Stock Exchange recorded a 2.8% monthly drop in October, while Bahrain’s market experienced a marginal decline of 0.5% during the month, making it the best performing market in the GCC.

The declines in October were also reflected in the aggregate MSCI GCC Index, which declined by 4.4% during the month, the largest decline in eight months. This decline pushed the year-to-date decline deeper into the red at 7.2%, reflecting declines in four out of seven GCC exchanges.

Global equity markets also showed weakness in October, with almost all key markets in the red following a hawkish tone from central banks. This indicated expectations of higher interest rates, which could affect global economic growth. The MSCI World Index also declined for the third consecutive month by 3.0% in October, highlighting a broad-based decline across the globe.

Muscat Stock Exchange fall 2.8% in October

The benchmark index of the Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX) experienced a 2.8% decline in October 2023, closing the month at 4,545.46 points, marking a decline for the second consecutive month.

In terms of sectoral performance, all three sector indices on the MSX also recorded broad-based declines during October. The Industrial Sector Index saw the largest decline, registering a 3.9% fall, mainly driven by drops in shares of most companies in the sector, according to Kamco Investment’s report.

In comparison, the Financial Index registered a 3.1% monthly decline during October, while the Services Index witnessed a dip of 2.4%.

In terms of company performance, Al Suwadi Power Company topped the gainers list with a share price gain of 22.2%, followed by Dhofar Cattle Feed and Oman Qatar Insurance with 12.2% and 10% monthly share gains, respectively.

On the decliner’s side, Dhofar Poultry led the list with an 88.9% share price fall, followed by National Aluminium Products Company and Salalah Mills Company, which witnessed share price drops of 70.2% and 23.1%, respectively.

Trading activity on the MSX saw significant gains during October. The total volume of shares traded on the exchange increased by 283% to 721mn shares during October, compared to 188.3mn shares in September. Similarly, the total value traded on the exchange increased by 190.8% to RO141.7mn, compared to RO48.7mn in September.

Bank Muscat topped the monthly value traded chart with trades at RO13.5mn, followed by Omantel and Ooredoo, with a total value traded of RO10.1mn and RO2.6mn, respectively.