Moroccan equities ended the session lower on Wednesday, with losses concentrated in the Utilities, Banking and Mining sectors contributing to a modest retreat in the benchmark.
At the close in Casablanca, the Moroccan All Shares index registered a decline of 0.08%.
Among individual movers, Bmce Bank (CSE:BOA) stood out as one of the stronger performers, advancing 1.97% or 4.00 points to finish at 207.00. CIH (CSE:CIH) gained 1.39% or 5.00 points to close at 365.00, and Miniere Touissit (CSE:CMT) rose 1.25% or 60.00 points to end the session at 4,860.00.
On the downside, M2M Group (CSE:M2M) posted the largest loss among active names, falling 5.17% or 22.90 points to 420.05 at the close. IB Maroc Com SA (CSE:IBC) dropped 4.96% or 3.50 points to finish at 67.00, and Ennakl Automobiles (CSE:NKL) declined 3.87% or 2.11 points to 52.47.
Market breadth was negative at the Casablanca Stock Exchange, with 40 falling issues versus 16 advancing and 3 remaining unchanged.
Commodities and currencies
Energy markets saw sizeable moves: crude oil for June delivery rose 5.39% or 5.39 to $105.32 per barrel. Brent for July delivery climbed 5.25% or 5.48 to $109.88 per barrel. Precious metals moved in the opposite direction, with the June Gold Futures contract down 1.21% or 55.71 to trade at $4,552.69 a troy ounce.
On the foreign-exchange front, the euro traded slightly higher against the Moroccan dirham, with EUR/MAD up 0.10% to 10.83. USD/MAD was unchanged at 9.25. The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.18% at 98.65.
Session takeaway
The market closed a touch lower as sectoral pressure in Utilities, Banking and Mining outweighed gains in several financial and mining stocks. Commodity price swings and mixed currency movements accompanied the trading day.