Muscat: The Muscat Stock Exchange will begin extending trading hours from Monday as part of a strategic direction aimed at providing a wider time range for executing trading orders. This move will contribute to boost liquidity and improving price efficiency in addition to enhancing market stability and increasing its depth.Adel Waleed, Director of Brokerage at United Securities Company, explained that the decision to extend trading hours is expected to have a positive impact on the market in the medium and long term. He said that increasing trading hours brings the Muscat Stock Exchange closer to global trading standards and contributes to attracting more foreign investments, with the acceleration of privatisation steps and new listings in the market, in addition to expectations of the stock exchange entering emerging market indices.In a statement to the Oman News Agency, he indicated that the performance of the Muscat Stock Exchange during the second half of this year would witness a recovery in trading volumes with the start of listing operations of a number of companies owned by the Oman Investment Authority (OIA), which would contribute to diversifying the sectors listed in the market and attracting a new segment of individual and institutional investors.He also said that expectations point to the Muscat Stock Exchange being added to the FTSE index watch list near the end of the third quarter of this year, which will maintain the stock exchange's momentum, in addition to attracting more foreign investments.He noted that the Muscat Stock Exchange witnessed a good rise during the last two sessions on Sunday and Monday, as the total gains reached more than 1.8 percent, enabling the index to close above the 7,750 point level, pointing out that these gains were supported by purchases from local investors and foreign institutions.He added that the banking sector continued to lead the market in its rises, rebounding from the low levels witnessed during Wednesday’s trading session, with positive participation from the rest of the market sectors, with trading volumes remaining stable at their upper levels above OMR40 million.