Institutional Investors Shape the Casablanca Stock Exchange
The fourth quarter of 2025 has underscored the significant structuring of the Moroccan stock market around institutional investors. According to a report from the Moroccan Capital Market Authority (AMMC), local legal entities and mutual funds (OPCVM) accounted for nearly two-thirds of the activity on the central market. Despite a slight contraction in trading volumes, the annual performance of the indices remained robust.
With a total transaction volume of 38.5 billion dirhams, which includes both the central market and block trading, stock market activity experienced a decrease of 3.9% compared to the fourth quarter of 2024. However, this decline masks a contrasting dynamic: the MASI and MASI 20 indices fell by 0.9% and 4% respectively during the quarter, yet they still recorded impressive annual gains of 27.6% and 24.5%, exceeding the previous year's performance.
Market Composition and Trading Trends
The equity compartment of the central market reveals a clear predominance of local investors. Moroccan legal entities represented 38% of the transactions, followed by mutual funds at 28.6%. Individual Moroccan investors ranked third, accounting for 21.2%, while foreign investors and participants through the banking network held much smaller shares of 6% and 5.9% respectively.
This configuration is also reflected in trading dynamics. Both Moroccan legal entities and mutual funds maintained net buying positions, with the former recording 12.2 billion dirhams in purchases against 11.3 billion in sales, while mutual funds totaled 9.9 billion dirhams in purchases compared to 7.8 billion in sales. Each category exhibited significant volume growth compared to the fourth quarter of 2024, indicating a marked increase in activity.
In contrast, individual Moroccan investors showed a more mixed picture. Although their volumes increased year-on-year, with 6.4 billion dirhams in purchases and 6.7 billion in sales, they experienced a notable decline compared to the third quarter of 2025. This shift suggests a short-term reduction in their engagement, despite maintaining a strong annual activity level.
Foreign investors intensified their trading activities, particularly on the selling side. Foreign legal entities executed sales amounting to 2.4 billion dirhams, more than double the previous year's level, while their purchases reached 1.3 billion dirhams, also showing a significant increase. Transactions routed through the banking network followed a similar trend, with sales of 2.6 billion dirhams and purchases of 986 million dirhams, reflecting substantial year-on-year growth.
The central market continues to capture the majority of trading, accounting for 81% of total volume. It reported transactions totaling 31 billion dirhams, which represents a year-on-year increase of 53.4% and a 3.1% rise from the previous quarter. This growth was accompanied by a marked increase in operational activity, with the number of stock orders reaching 794,564, an impressive 94.4% increase year-on-year, while the number of contracts rose by 95.2% to reach 391,889. These changes indicate a significant enhancement in liquidity and turnover of securities.
On the other hand, the block trading market experienced a notable contraction, with its volume dropping to 7.4 billion dirhams, representing only 19% of total exchanges, a stark reduction from the significantly higher levels observed a year prior. Transactions in this segment were almost exclusively conducted by Moroccan legal entities, which accounted for all purchases and over 99% of sales in the fourth quarter of 2025. This concentration signifies an increased specialization in this segment around large-scale operations carried out by institutional players.
In summary, the detailed analysis of flows in the central market highlights the persistent dominance of institutional investors in both purchases and sales. Moroccan legal entities contributed to 39.4% of purchases and 36.6% of sales, while mutual funds accounted for 31.9% and 25.3% respectively. Although individual Moroccan investors maintained a significant presence with approximately one-fifth of transactions, they remained significantly overshadowed by institutional actors. Other investor categories, including foreign participants and those operating via the banking network, held marginal positions in comparison.
Given this context, the structure of the Moroccan stock market in the fourth quarter of 2025 appears heavily institutionalized, with a concentration of trading volumes among organized domestic players, while the participation of other investor categories remains secondary, albeit with occasional increases in their activity.
As reported by fr.hespress.com.
