Mubasher: The main index of the Muscat Securities Market (MSM) ended Wednesday 0.17% or 9.28 points lower, reaching 5,392.31 points.

The services shed 0.15% as Oman Telecommunications (Omantel), Phoenix Power, and Oman Investment and Finance lost 0.80%, 0.74%, and 0.51%, respectively.

The financial sector inched down 0.09% after HSBC Oman decreased 2.33% and the National Bank of Oman (NBO) fell 0.88%.

On the other hand, the industry sector edged up 0.01% as Galfar Engineering and Contracting and National Aluminum Products grew 5.06% and 3.33%, respectively.

Al Jazeera Steel Products was the worst performer as it retreated 4.5%, whereas Al Madina Investment Co led risers with 5.8%.

Traded volume rose to 25.62 million on Wednesday against 19.26 million shares on Tuesday, while liquidity increased to OMR 3 million from OMR 2.53 million.

Al Madina Investment Co's stock led in terms of trading volume with 8.86 million shares exchanged at a turnover of OMR 651,010.