Market close
Moroccan equities finished the trading day lower on Friday, as sector-level declines in Utilities, Banking and Mining pushed the market into negative territory. At the Casablanca close, the Moroccan All Shares index fell 0.06%.
Top performers
- Label Vie (CSE:LBV) led winners, gaining 8.57% or 330.00 points to finish at 4,180.00.
- SMI (CSE:SMI) added 8.53% or 558.00 points, closing at 7,101.00.
- Miniere Touissit (CSE:CMT) rose 8.33% or 300.00 points to end the session at 3,900.00.
Largest decliners
- BCP (CSE:BCP) was the weakest performer, down 3.30% or 8.20 points to trade at 240.00 at the close.
- Sanlam Maroc SA (CSE:SAH) fell 3.24% or 87.00 points to finish at 2,600.00.
- Aradei Capital SA (CSE:ARD) slipped 3.11% or 13.00 points to end at 405.00.
Breadth and notable price milestones
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the Casablanca Stock Exchange by 35 to 22, while 5 stocks ended unchanged. BCP shares moved to 52-week lows, losing 3.30% or 8.20 to 240.00. Conversely, Miniere Touissit reached an all-time high, rising 8.33% or 300.00 to 3,900.00.
Commodities and currencies
Global commodity markets showed varied movement: crude oil for May delivery slipped 0.40% or 0.45 to $111.54 a barrel, while Brent oil for June delivery climbed 7.99% or 8.08 to $109.24 a barrel. In metals, the June Gold Futures contract fell 0.48% or 22.75 to trade at $4,679.70 a troy ounce.
Foreign-exchange rates against the Moroccan dirham were mixed. EUR/MAD was unchanged at 10.82, while USD/MAD rose 0.48% to 9.41. The US Dollar Index Futures was higher, up 0.53% at 99.99.
Takeaway
Friday's session left the Moroccan All Shares with a marginal decline as losses in a few key sectors outweighed sharp gains in certain individual stocks. Market breadth favored decliners, and select names hit notable new price extremes during the session. Commodity and currency moves were mixed, offering a varied backdrop to the local equity performance.
Editor note - This report summarizes closing prices, percent changes and selected market data from the Casablanca close.