Market close
Morocco's stock market finished slightly lower on Thursday, as sector-specific declines in Utilities, Banking and Mining contributed to a modest retreat in the Moroccan All Shares index. At the Casablanca close the benchmark fell 0.02%.
Top and bottom performers
Among individual stocks, Societe des Boissons du Maroc SA (CSE:SBM) was the session's strongest performer, rising 4.93% - a gain of 108.00 points - to close at 2,299.00. Ste de Travaux de Realisation d’Ouvrages et de Constuction Industielle SA (CSE:STR) added 4.24%, or 8.20 points, ending at 201.70. Hps (CSE:HPS) also advanced, up 3.13% - a rise of 18.00 points - to 593.00 in late trade.
On the downside, Marocaine Ste de Therapeutique SA (CSE:SOT) was the weakest name in the market, sliding 4.40% - down 79.00 points - to finish at 1,716.00. Miniere Touissit (CSE:CMT) fell 4.02%, a loss of 201.00 points, to close at 4,799.00. Ennakl Automobiles (CSE:NKL) declined 3.12%, slipping 1.73 points to 53.72.
Market internals
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the Casablanca Stock Exchange by 30 to 22, while 7 stocks finished unchanged.
Commodities and currencies
In commodities trading, crude oil for May delivery gained 1.83%, rising $1.67 to $92.96 a barrel. Brent oil for June delivery climbed 2.81%, up $2.67 to $97.60 a barrel. The June Gold Futures contract posted a smaller advance of 0.15%, up $7.39 to trade at $4,830.99 a troy ounce.
On the currency front, EUR/MAD moved down 0.06% to 10.89, while USD/MAD increased 0.10% to 9.24. The US Dollar Index Futures was trading higher by 0.18% at 98.03.
Context and takeaway
Thursday's session showed modest downward pressure on the Moroccan All Shares, concentrated in a few sectors rather than reflecting a broad-based sell-off. Several individual names produced outsized moves to the upside, partly offsetting steeper losses in others. Commodities markets registered gains in oil and gold, and currency pairs involving the dirham registered only minor percentage moves.