Muscat --- Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX) has announced anextension of its trading hours, effective from the beginning of June 2026. This decision is part of the Exchange’s ongoing efforts to enhance its operationalinfrastructure and improve the efficiency of the trading environment, aligning with global best practices and bolstering the Exchange’s competitiveness regionally and internationally.

 

This initiative is driven by a strategic objective to provide a broader time windowfor executing trade orders, thereby supporting liquidity levels, improvingprice discovery efficiency, and enhancing market stability and depth.

Under the new schedule, the Pre-Opening Session will run from 9:30 AM to 10:00 AM,followed by the Continuous Trading Session until 2:45 PM. Subsequently, thePre-Closing Session will take place until 2:55 PM, followed by theTrading-at-Close Session until 3:00 PM, with the official market closing at3:00 PM.

Thisupdate reflects the Exchange’s commitment to providing a more efficient tradingstructure that balances execution flexibility with pricing precision,particularly during the opening and closing phases.

Extendingthe trading hours represents a significant step toward harmonizing MSX’strading timetable with those of regional and international counterpartexchanges. This alignment enhances opportunities for integration with globalmarkets and empowers investors to engage with the Omani market withintimeframes that better suit their investment strategies. Furthermore, theextension allows greater scope to react to economic developments and local,regional, and international news, positively impacting trading dynamics andmarket efficiency.

Thisupdate is expected to attract a wider investor base, particularly foreigninvestors, while also supporting liquidity levels and invigorating tradingactivity by distributing orders across a longer session. This reduces orderconcentration within limited time periods and improves execution quality.

Thisdecision is part of an integrated framework of market development initiativesbeing implemented by the Exchange. These include strengthening the role ofmarket makers and liquidity providers, upgrading the regulatory and operationalinfrastructure, and enhancing the investor experience through digital channels.

HaithamSalim Al Salmi, CEO of Muscat Stock Exchange, affirmed that extending thetrading hours represents a strategic step in the Exchange’s developmenttrajectory. He stated that the MSX seeks to build a more agile and efficienttrading environment capable of responding to economic variables and enhancingthe market’s investment appeal. He noted that aligning trading hours withregional and international markets contributes to integrating the Omani marketinto the global financial system and supports attracting investments,particularly from international investors.

Heexplained that this move provides a broader time window to respond to economicdevelopments, thereby enhancing market efficiency and dynamism, supportingliquidity levels, and activating trading. He clarified that this initiative ispart of a series of continuous efforts by the Exchange to develop the market’score infrastructure, reinforce the role of market makers and liquidityproviders, and improve the investor experience. This supports the creation of adeeper, more diversified financial market capable of attracting long-terminvestments and contributing effectively to economic growth, in line with theobjectives of Oman Vision 2040.

He added that this extension is a continuation of the gradual developmentalapproach adopted by the MSX, focusing on enhancing operational efficiency andraising market readiness to meet the requirements of local and internationalinvestors. This helps establish a more competitive and sustainable investment environment and strengthens the market’s ability to keep pace with rapidtransformations in global capital markets.

AlSalmi indicated that this step, alongside other Exchange-led initiatives, isexpected to reinforce the market’s position as a central hub within theSultanate of Oman’s investment ecosystem. It will also enhance its role in channeling capital toward promising economic sectors, thereby adding value tothe national economy and meeting the aspirations of the next phase.

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