The MASI and MASI 20 indices reached 13,009.23 and 1,058.69 points respectively at the end of March 2024, recording respective increases of 7.6% and 7% compared to the end of December 2023 and 25.2% and 27.2% compared to the end of March 2023. Regarding market activity, the total volume of trade on the central and block markets reached 11.7 billion dirhams in the first quarter of 2024, recording an increase of 82.8% compared to the same period in 2023 (6.4 billion dirhams).
The central market concentrated 97% of total trade, with a volume of 11.4 billion dirhams, representing an increase of 119% compared to the first quarter of 2023 (5.2 billion dirhams) and a decrease of 5% compared to Q4 2023 (12 billion dirhams).
The block market represented only 3% of total trade, with a volume of 291.3 million dirhams. The number of orders on the central equity market recorded an increase of 85.3% compared to Q1 2023 and 30.1% compared to Q4 2023, reaching a total of 293,684 orders in Q1 2024. Likewise , the number of contracts increased by 146% between the first quarter of 2024 (141,193 contracts) and the first quarter of 2023 (57,389 contracts), and by 48% compared to the fourth quarter of 2023 (95,434 contracts).
The structure of investors in the central market equity compartment was marked by the predominance of UCITS. The latter represent 34% of the quarterly volume, followed by Moroccan legal entities (28%). Moroccan individuals account for 24% of the quarterly volume, while foreign legal entities and investors through the banking network share, in equal parts, 14% of the volume. The main elements that characterized purchases and sales in the first quarter of 2024 are:
• UCITS, in a net buying position, made purchases amounting to 4.6 billion dirhams against a sales volume of 3.1 billion dirhams. Their purchases as well as their sales are up compared to Q1 2023, by 129% and 39.7% respectively;
• Moroccan legal entities, in a net selling position, made sales of around 3.2 billion dirhams and purchases worth 3.1 billion dirhams. Their purchases and sales are up compared to Q1 2023, by 79.7% and 85.2% respectively;
• Moroccan individuals increased their purchases by 4.8 times compared to Q1 2023 and by 65% compared to Q4 2023, for an amount that amounted to 2.7 billion dirhams. They made sales for an almost similar amount of 2.8 billion dirhams, up 6 times compared to Q1 2023 and 62.4% compared to Q4 2023;
• Investors whose orders pass through the banking network increased their purchases by 55% compared to Q4 2023 and 3 times compared to Q1 2023. As for sales, they increased by 78.3% compared to Q4 2023 and 6.3 times compared to Q1 2023.
• Among foreign investors, legal entities made purchases of 511 million dirhams, down compared to Q4 2023 (-23.6%) and Q1 2023 (-35.9%). They achieved sales of 992 million dirhams, down compared to Q4 2023 (-11.4%) and up compared to Q1 2023 (56.5%).
