Stocks in Morocco finished the trading session higher on Friday, with leadership coming from the Banking, Beverage and Transport sectors as investors pushed the market up slightly.
At the close in Casablanca, the Moroccan All Shares index rose 0.16%.
Top performers
The session's largest gains on the Moroccan All Shares were posted by Lesieur Cristal (CSE:LES), which climbed 6.95% - a rise of 26.00 points - to close at 400.00. Ste Nationale de Siderurgie SA (CSE:SID) added 4.61%, gaining 99.00 points to finish at 2,245.00. SMI (CSE:SMI) advanced 4.59%, up 448.00 points to 10,198.00 in late trade.
Largest decliners
At the other end of the board, M2M Group (CSE:M2M) fell 4.09%, a decrease of 18.00 points to close at 422.00. Wafa Assurance (CSE:WAA) retreated 3.31%, losing 190.00 points to end at 5,550.00. Fenie Brossette (CSE:FBR) declined 3.05%, down 9.90 points to finish at 315.00.
Overall market breadth was negative on the Casablanca Stock Exchange, where falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones by 31 to 19, and 9 issues ended unchanged.
Notable milestones
Shares of SMI (CSE:SMI) reached an all-time high, gaining 4.59% or 448.00 points to close at 10,198.00.
Commodities and currency moves
Energy and precious metals markets were firmer in related trading. Crude oil for June delivery increased 0.61%, adding 0.58 to trade at $95.39 a barrel. Brent oil for July delivery rose 1.45%, up 1.45 to $101.51 a barrel. The June Gold Futures contract was higher by 0.33%, rising 15.51 to trade at $4,726.41 a troy ounce.
On the currency front, EUR/MAD was down 0.24% at 10.76, while USD/MAD was essentially unchanged, moving 0.01% to 9.13.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.16% at 97.79.
Context and takeaway
Friday's session showed selective strength among Moroccan equities, with notable upward moves concentrated in a few large names while a greater number of stocks declined. Commodity markets showed gains in oil and gold, and the dollar futures reading was softer at the close.