Morocco is one of the most developed and best managed economies in Africa. It also plays a key role in the geopolitical world. In this article, we analyze the most important stock market indices in Morocco.
Content
Introduction
With a population of nearly 40 million people, Morocco is one of Africa’s most promising economies. There are several reasons to be optimistic about the country’s future prospects.
On the one hand, at the demographic level, Morocco is relatively large and growing. However, its population is beginning to stabilize, indicating that more resources, especially human ones, can be used to develop the domestic economy and improve people’s standard of living.
At the political level, Morocco is well run, which makes it one of the most stable countries on the African continent. Another important fact is that the Moroccan currency, the dirham, has been pegged to a basket composed of the euro and the US dollar for many years.
Such a stable monetary policy is in contrast with most other African countries, whose currencies are highly volatile and tend to experience very high inflation rates. Those currency devaluations lower investors’ real returns. This is a problem that investors in Morocco do not have.
When it comes to geopolitics, Morocco has been able to cultivate good relations with both Western countries, especially the European Union and the United States, as well as other emerging nations. And it is on its way to becoming a regional power in the North of Africa.
Morocco has been industrializing for a couple of decades, thanks to its proximity to Europe, its domestic stability and lower production costs.
In addition to all of that, the country’s authorities seem to have a plan with which to improve its economic position in the long term. On the contrary, most European countries are trapped in electoral cycles that are exploited by politicians in or seeking power.
Therefore, there are many reasons to be optimistic about the future of the Moroccan economy. For those who want to invest there without having to select companies individually, next, we analyze the most important stock market indices in Morocco.
MASI
The MASI is Morocco’s main stock market index. Calculated by the Casablanca Stock Exchange, the MASI is an index that includes all the companies listed in the North African country. MASI is short for Morocco All-Share Index.
Within it, stocks are weighted according to their market capitalization adjusted for free float. As a consequence of that, it is dominated by the largest ones.
It is therefore a very useful indicator to find out how the market value of companies listed on the Casablanca Stock Exchange has been evolving over time.
However, it is not the most suitable index for passive investment funds, as it includes many stocks with small market capitalizations. When it comes to passive investing, the two indices we analyze next are better options.
If you want to read more about the MASI, you can visit the Casablanca Stock Exchange website.
FTSE CSE Morocco 15
The FTSE CSE Morocco 15 is a stock market index calculated by FTSE Russell. It was introduced in 2010 with an initial value of 10,000 points.
This index is composed of the 15 companies with the largest market capitalization and most liquidity on the Casablanca Stock Exchange. It was designed so that companies that manage investment funds would be able to offer passive investment vehicles to its clients.
Two of its largest companies are Attijariwafa Bank and Banque Populaire. It should be noted that the banking sector is the most important one within the index.
Additional information can be found on the FTSE Russell website.
MSCI Morocco
Thirdly, the American company MSCI calculates the MSCI Morocco, a stock market index composed of all Moroccan companies that can be found in the global stock market index of developing countries MSCI Frontier Markets.
The number of stocks in it fluctuates over time, although it hovers around 10. Hence, it is a somewhat more concentrated index than the FTSE CSE Morocco 15.
As is to be expected, the banking sector also dominates within the MSCI Morocco. Additional details can be found on the MSCI website.
I hope you found this information about Morocco´s most important stock market indices useful. To learn about stock indices from other countries, check out this section:
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