The sharpest contrast on the Casablanca stock exchange today came from one stock moving against almost everything else. While the MASI index fell 1.18% to 17,391.2 points, Delta Holding surged 4.7% to MAD 55.99, making it the day’s top performer. In a session where 48 stocks declined and only 12 advanced, that gain stood out as a clear sign that parts of the market were rotating toward more defensive names.
The backdrop helps explain why. Brent crude traded at $110.23 a barrel, up 0.4% on the day and 9.0% over one week, while the USD/MAD rose 3.12% to 9.3628 and the EUR/MAD climbed 3.37% to 10.829. For Morocco, a net energy importer, that combination matters immediately: higher oil raises the import bill, and a weaker dirham against major currencies increases the cost of imported fuel, equipment and industrial inputs. That is a difficult mix for cyclical stocks, and it helps explain why Delta Holding found buyers even as the broader market sold off.
Key figures
- MASI: 17,391.2 (-1.18%)
- Delta Holding: MAD 55.99 (+4.7%)
- Brent crude: $110.23 (+9.0% week-on-week)
- Market breadth: 12 gainers / 48 losers / 20 unchanged