Muscat, April 18 (QNA) - The main index of Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX) posted weekly gains of 174 points, closing at 8,336, while the market capitalization of listed securities rose to OMR 38.625 billion, marking weekly gains of OMR 657.6 million.

The benchmark index saw 48 securities advances, compared to 37 that declined, while 14 remained unchanged. The financial sector index led gains, rising by 425 points to exceed the 13,200 level, supported by higher shares of several banks and investment firms alongside the release of preliminary first-quarter earnings results.

Trading activity also recorded notable growth, with total value increasing by 39 percent to exceed OMR 430.2 million, compared to OMR 309.1 million in the previous week. The number of executed transactions rose by 1.3 percent to 32,754 trades.

The financial sector index closed the week at 13,294 points, its highest level since August 2008. It first surpassed the 13,000 marks in January 2008 and continued rising above 16,000 points in June of the same year before declining sharply to end 2008 at 6,620 points.

Meanwhile, other sectoral indices recorded declines, with the industrial index falling 29 points to 10,073, the services index down 23 points, and the Shariah index slipping 13 points to 654. (QNA)