Moroccan equities closed mixed-to-lower on Wednesday, with the Moroccan All Shares slipping 1.21% at the Casablanca close. Losses were concentrated in several large sectors - notably Utilities, Banking and Mining - which exerted downward pressure on the broader market.
Market breadth was tilted toward declines. On the Casablanca Stock Exchange, falling issues outnumbered advancing ones by 37 to 14, while 5 stocks finished unchanged.
Top gainers
- Auto Hall (CSE:ATH) led advancers, gaining 5.26% - an increase of 3.50 points to finish at 70.00.
- Lesieur Cristal (CSE:LES) added 5.06%, rising 17.50 points to close at 363.50.
- Disway SA (CSE:DWY) rose 3.14%, up 24.00 points to end the session at 789.00.
Largest decliners
- SMI (CSE:SMI) recorded the steepest drop, falling 9.25% or 588.00 points to close at 5,772.00.
- Managem (CSE:MNG) declined 9.19%, down 1,295.00 points to finish at 12,800.00.
- Sanlam Maroc SA (CSE:SAH) eased 9.05%, losing 275.00 points to end at 2,765.00.
Commodity markets saw notable moves during the session. Crude oil for August delivery fell 4.70% - a drop of 3.44 to $69.77 a barrel. Brent oil for September delivery declined 4.34%, down 3.33 to $73.47 a barrel. Precious metals were also lower: the August Gold Futures contract decreased 3.18%, down 131.95 to trade at $4,017.45 a troy ounce.
Currency moves included EUR/MAD, which was down 0.08% at 10.66, while USD/MAD rose 0.44% to 9.42. The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.26% at 101.44.
Contextual note - The session's losses were driven by sector-level weakness in Utilities, Banking and Mining, as reflected in the broader Moroccan All Shares decline. While several individual stocks recorded solid gains, they were insufficient to offset the heavier losses concentrated among some larger names.