Casablanca Stock Exchange Sees Decline in Key Indices
On Thursday, March 19, 2026, the Casablanca Stock Exchange concluded the trading session with a notable downturn, as its main index, the MASI, experienced a decrease of 1.53%, closing at 17,243.58 points. This decline reflects a broader trend across various indices, with the MASI 20, which includes the 20 most liquid stocks, falling by 1.47% to settle at 1,322.41 points. Similarly, the MASI ESG, which tracks companies with superior environmental, social, and governance ratings according to Moody's ESG Solutions, also saw a drop of 1.47%, ending at 1,185.46 points.
The MASI Mid and Small Cap index, designed to gauge the performance of small and medium-sized companies, recorded a decline of 1.58%, closing at 1,726.14 points. On the international front, the FTSE CSE Morocco 15 Index and FTSE CSE Morocco All-Liquid indices also finished lower, with losses of 1.31% and 1.58% respectively, finishing at 16,103.37 points and 14,705.3 points.
Sector Performance Highlights
Sector-wise, the most significant declines were observed in the "Portfolio Companies - Holdings" sector, which plunged by 5.76%, followed by "Real Estate Participation and Promotion" at -3.03%, and the "Mining" sector, which fell by 2.34%. Conversely, the "Distributors" sector showed resilience, climbing by 6.26%, while the "Electricity" sector gained 2.23%, and "Financing Companies and Other Financial Activities" increased by 1.02%.
Trading volume for the day stood at approximately 494.05 million dirhams, predominantly occurring in the central market, with substantial transactions noted for Taqa Morocco (128.61 MDH), Attijariwafa Bank (50.23 MDH), and Bank of Africa (47.32 MDH). The market capitalization was reported to exceed 963.99 billion dirhams.
On an individual stock basis, SMI bore the brunt of losses, plummeting by 7.85% to 5,760 dirhams, followed by Maghrebail, which dropped 5.84% to 870 dirhams, and Delta Holding, which fell by 5.81% to 55.1 dirhams. In contrast, Label Vie led the gains with an impressive increase of 8.32%, closing at 4,100 dirhams, followed by Salafin at 5.77% to 533 dirhams, and Sanlam Maroc gaining 2.89% to 2,173 dirhams.
As reported by fr.hespress.com.
