Casablanca Stock Exchange Opens Lower as MASI Index Slips 0.21%

13:00

The Casablanca Stock Exchange opened lower on Thursday, October 22, as selling pressure weighed on the market’s main indicators. The benchmark MASI index fell 0.21% to 16,972.12 points, setting a cautious tone at the start of trading.

The decline followed a positive session on Wednesday, when the index gained 0.43% and moved back above the 17,000-point threshold. The latest opening figures suggest that investors were reassessing positions after the previous day’s advance.

Major Market Indices Record Losses

The negative trend extended to several key indicators. The MASI 20, which tracks 20 of the market’s most liquid stocks, declined 0.25% to 1,230.03 points.

The MASI ESG index, covering companies recognised for their environmental, social and governance ratings, slipped 0.14% to 1,253.79 points.

Small and mid-cap shares moved in the opposite direction. The MASI Mid and Small Cap index edged up 0.05% to 1,612.03 points, indicating a more mixed performance among smaller listed companies.

Ennakl and Vicenne Lead Early Gainers

Despite the broader market decline, several stocks advanced during the morning session.

Ennakl and Vicenne each gained 1.5%, reaching 47.50 dirhams and 298 dirhams, respectively. Crédit du Maroc rose 1.31% to 928 dirhams, while Bank of Africa added 1.12% to 180 dirhams.

HPS also posted a positive performance, climbing 0.98% to 525.10 dirhams.

These gains offered some support in an otherwise negative opening, highlighting the differences in performance among individual stocks.

Maghreb Oxygène Faces the Sharpest Decline

On the losing side, Maghreb Oxygène recorded the steepest drop, falling 9.38% to 348 dirhams amid profit-taking.

Involys declined 4.71% to 112.35 dirhams, while SNEP lost 3.87% to 273 dirhams. Med Paper dropped 3.07% to 22.10 dirhams, and Cartier Saada retreated 2.99% to 18.80 dirhams.

The contrasting movements among listed companies underline the importance of stock-specific factors, even when the overall market direction is negative.

Investors Watch the Market After Wednesday’s Recovery

The opening decline comes after Wednesday’s advance, when the MASI gained 0.43% and the Casablanca market’s total capitalisation exceeded 1 trillion dirhams.

The latest figures provide an early snapshot rather than a definitive indication of how the session will end. Subsequent trading will determine whether the benchmark can recover its initial losses or whether selling pressure will persist.

For investors following Morocco’s equity market, the performance of the main indices and the divergence between individual stocks remain key indicators to monitor throughout the trading day.