MUSCAT: The Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX) has announced an extension of its daily trading hours, a move aimed at improving market efficiency, boosting liquidity and strengthening the exchange’s alignment with regional and international markets.

According to the exchange, the revised trading schedule will take effect from June 1, 2026, as part of its broader efforts to enhance operational infrastructure and reinforce the attractiveness of Oman’s capital market to both domestic and foreign investors.

Currently, trading on MSX typically closes at around 2:00 pm. Under the new schedule, the market will close at 3:00 pm, effectively extending the trading day by roughly 1 hour.

Under the new schedule, the trading day will begin with a pre-opening session from 9:30 am to 10:00 am, allowing market participants to place and modify orders before continuous trading begins. The continuous trading session will run from 10:00 am until 2:45 pm, representing the core period during which buy and sell orders are matched.

Following this, a pre-closing session will take place from 2:45 pm to 2:55 pm, enabling the market to determine closing prices through an orderly process. This will be followed by a trading at closing price session from 2:55 pm to 3:00 pm, after which the market will officially close at 3:00 pm.

The extension reflects MSX’s strategy to strengthen its competitiveness and better integrate Oman’s equity market with global financial systems. By aligning trading hours more closely with regional and international markets, the exchange expects to facilitate greater participation from foreign institutional investors and improve cross-border investment flows.

Market officials noted that the revised timetable is also designed to support higher levels of market liquidity and trading activity. Longer trading hours typically provide investors with more opportunities to respond to developments in global financial markets, including economic data releases, geopolitical events and commodity price movements.

Another key objective of the change is to provide investors with additional time to react to local, regional and international news, which increasingly influences market sentiment and trading strategies. In fast-moving financial markets, the ability to adjust positions in response to new information is considered an important element in improving market efficiency.

The extended trading hours form part of the exchange’s broader initiatives aimed at strengthening Oman’s capital market ecosystem. These efforts include improving market infrastructure, attracting new listings, expanding investor participation and enhancing the overall trading environment.

Analysts note that exchanges worldwide have increasingly adopted longer trading sessions and more flexible market structures to accommodate global investment flows and digital trading platforms. In this context, MSX’s decision represents a further step in positioning Oman’s stock market as a more accessible and internationally connected investment destination.

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