Moroccan equities finished the session modestly lower after the close on Tuesday, with weakness led by the Utilities, Banking and Mining sectors.
At the Casablanca exchange, the Moroccan All Shares index ended the day down 0.04%.
The session saw a mix of movers among individual issues. Leading the gainers was Afriquia Gaz (CSE:GAZ), which rose 4.35% - an increase of 162.00 points - to close at 3,887.00. S2M (CSE:S2M) added 3.55%, or 18.80 points, finishing at 548.80. Cartier Saada (CSE:CRS) also registered a notable rise, up 3.48% or 1.01 points to close at 30.05.
On the downside, IB Maroc Com SA (CSE:IBC) was the weakest performer, slipping 4.60% or 2.99 points to finish at 62.00. Label Vie (CSE:LBV) declined 3.66%, a fall of 150.00 points, to close at 3,950.00. Auto Hall (CSE:ATH) dropped 3.20%, or 2.58 points, to end the session at 78.10.
Market breadth on the Casablanca Stock Exchange showed more advancing issues than decliners, with 32 stocks rising compared with 24 that fell, while 6 finished unchanged.
Commodities and currency moves
Commodity markets displayed mixed direction on the session. Crude oil for May delivery rose 3.62%, up 3.19, to $91.32 a barrel. Brent crude for June delivery increased 3.01%, or 2.89, to $98.81 a barrel. By contrast, the June Gold Futures contract edged lower, down 0.09% or 3.84, to trade at $4,435.66 a troy ounce.
On the foreign exchange front, the euro to Moroccan dirham rate was effectively unchanged, moving 0.02% to 10.80, while the dollar weakened against the dirham, with USD/MAD falling 0.39% to 9.32. The US Dollar Index Futures finished higher, up 0.45% at 99.17.
The session's outcome left the main Moroccan benchmark marginally lower despite pockets of strength among select midcap names, and was accompanied by notable moves in energy markets and modest shifts in domestic currency pairs.