Rabat – Casablanca Stock Exchange opened on optimistic ground today, rebounding from a slight fall in the last session, as top blue-chip shares saw renewed buying interest.
The benchmark index of the market, the MASI, climbed 0.38% to 19,447.43 points at the opening bell, recovering some of yesterday’s 0.35% fall.
The MASI 20, which tracks the 20 most traded listed stocks, increased 0.46% to 1,587.87 points, and the MASI ESG, tracking companies with the best environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings as determined by Moody’s ESG Solutions, added 0.34% to 1,318.67 points.
On the other hand, the MASI Mid and Small Cap index declined by 0.11% to 1,914.17 points, reflecting some continued weakness in smaller capitalizations.
On the corporate front, some heavyweight and mid-cap counters supported the market. Alliances led the advance with a 3.51% gain to MAD 590 (US$63.95), followed by Disty Technologies by 2.07% to MAD 390 (US$42.27), BCP by 1.67% to MAD 305 (US$33.06), Cartier Saada by 1.58% to MAD 38.6 (US$4.18), and Stroc Industrie by 1.51% to MAD 322.8 (US$34.99).
Conversely, recent leaders softened. Involys dropped 3.95% to MAD 170 (US$18.43), Fenie Brossette went down 3.62% to MAD 453 (US$49.10), Auto Hall dropped 2.83% to MAD 96 (US$10.41), SMI fell 2.76% to MAD 2,606 (US$282.46), and Sonasid fell 1.7% to MAD 2,427 (US$263.06).
Today’s soft bounce followed a relatively conservative session yesterday, during which the MASI dropped 0.35% to close at 19,374.33 points due to large-scale declines in major sectors.
The “Electricity” sector led declines with a 3.01% drop, followed by “Holdings” decreasing by 2.85% and “Financial services” reducing by 2.81%.
Industrial engineering and health stocks, on the other hand, had given little support, rising 4.38% and 1.54% respectively.
Yesterday’s turnover hit close to MAD 210.3 million (US$22.79 million), led by the Sodep-Marsa Maroc (MAD 41.08 million – ), Alliances (MAD 27.25 million – ), and Residences Dar Saada (MAD 20.41 million – ) transactions. Market capitalization was over MAD 1.02 trillion (US$110.56 billion).
Having started the week on a subdued note, investors appeared guarded optimistic on Tuesday, anticipating selective gains by top listed players.
The session revealed that even in the face of volatility, the market remains resilient, with investors positioning themselves ahead of upcoming corporate earnings as well as macroeconomic updates.
