RAC prepares to select banks for London IPO valued at £5 billion - Bloomberg

Investing.com – Morocco stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Banking, Beverage and Transport sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Casablanca, the Moroccan All Shares gained 1.87%.

The best performers of the session on the Moroccan All Shares were Stokvis Nord Afrique (CSE:SNA), which rose 10.00% or 8.57 points to trade at 94.30 at the close. Meanwhile, Ste de Travaux de Realisation d’Ouvrages et de Constuction Industielle SA (CSE:STR) added 9.98% or 22.45 points to end at 247.45 and Residences Dar Saada SA (CSE:RDS) was up 6.27% or 9.85 points to 167.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were CTM (CSE:CTM), which fell 1.32% or 12.00 points to trade at 895.00 at the close. Aluminum du Maroc SA (CSE:ALM) declined 1.06% or 19.00 points to end at 1,779.00 and Nationale d’Electrolyse et de Petrochimie Ste SA (CSE:SNP) was down 0.64% or 3.00 points to 467.00.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Casablanca Stock Exchange by 52 to 4 and 4 ended unchanged.

Crude oil for March delivery was up 0.61% or 0.38 to $62.77 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in April rose 0.35% or 0.23 to hit $66.82 a barrel, while the April Gold Futures contract rose 3.08% or 157.65 to trade at $5,278.25 a troy ounce.

EUR/MAD was up 0.17% to 10.82, while USD/MAD unchanged 0.03% to 9.05.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.30% at 96.34.

Investing.com -- The aerospace and defence sector continues to show strong potential heading into 2026, backed by solid demand visibility and multi-year defence budget commitments across global markets.

Despite a significant rally that has stretched valuations, select companies still offer compelling investment opportunities according to recent analysis from Kepler Cheuvreux. Supply constraints, execution challenges, and margin delivery will likely separate industry leaders from the pack.

Safran

Safran SA (EPA:SAF) emerges as the premier high-return investment in the aerospace and defence sector. The company has secured its superior margin and long-term cash flow growth through its dominant position in the global narrowbody market, where it holds over 75% market share.

This commanding market presence provides Safran with exceptional stability and growth prospects in the commercial aviation segment.

Rheinmetall

Rheinmetall AG (ETR:RHMG) stands optimally positioned to capitalize on Germany’s substantial stimulus package and NATO capability upgrades. The company has demonstrated strong performance, though with some volatility due to its growth dependency on the high-margin ammunition business.

As European defense spending continues to increase, Rheinmetall remains a key beneficiary of regional security priorities.

Leonardo

Leonardo SpA (BIT:LDOF) has successfully reshaped its business portfolio through strategic joint ventures and asset reorganization. These moves have effectively refocused the group’s operations on assets generating better returns.

The company’s streamlined approach has strengthened its competitive position in key defense markets, particularly in Europe.

Indra

Indra (BME:IDR) has transformed into Spain’s primary defense contractor, significantly improving shareholder returns in the process.

The company offers additional upside potential through a possible merger with EM&E, which could further enhance its market position and technological capabilities in the defense electronics segment.

Exail Technologies

Exail Technologies (EPA:EXA) presents an attractive valuation relative to its promising prospects in the autonomous underwater defense market.

As the dominant player in this specialized segment, Exail is well-positioned to benefit from increasing naval defense investments worldwide, particularly as underwater capabilities become increasingly critical to national security strategies.

While the sector broadly benefits from increased defense spending and commercial aerospace recovery, these five companies demonstrate particular strengths in their respective market segments, operational execution, and strategic positioning according to Kepler Cheuvreux’s analysis.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

Investing.com -- U.S. stocks rose Wednesday as investors awaited an interest rate decision by the Federal Reserve while digesting a plethora of quarterly corporate earnings. 

At 09:32 ET (14:32 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 135 points, or 0.3%, higher, the S&P 500 index gained 20 points, or 0.3%, and the NASDAQ Composite climbed 165 points, or 0.7%.

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Fed decision looms large

Investor attention is firmly focused on the Federal Reserve, which is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged when it announces its decision later in the session.

Markets have priced in a pause as policymakers digest recent economic data that has pointed to easing inflation, while remaining above target, as well as steady growth and a resilient labor market.

At the same time, U.S. consumer confidence tanked in January to its lowest level in 12 years, a gauge from the Conference Board showed, underscoring the pessimism many of Americans are feeling as the risk of a partial U.S. government shutdown over a backlash to deadly shootings by immigration enforcement agents in Minneapolis rises while fresh tariff threats from President Donald Trump loom in the background.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments will be closely watched for clues on how long rates may stay at current levels and when cuts could eventually come.

"The main focus will therefore be on possible dissent and communication, also around the issue of the Fed’s independence," ING analysts said in a note. "The decision will also be overshadowed by President Trump’s upcoming pick of a new Fed Chair." 

Powell’s term ends in May, and Trump said on Tuesday he will announce his pick for the new head of the Federal Reserve soon.

Major tech earnings to shape market direction

Earnings are another major driver this week, with four members of the so-called “Magnificent Seven” technology group set to report.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) are all due to release results after the close Wednesday, followed by Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) on Thursday.

Together, these companies carry significant weight in major indexes, and their outlooks on artificial intelligence spending, cloud demand and consumer trends are expected to shape market direction in the days ahead.

Beyond tech, AT&T (NYSE:T) stock rose after the telecom giant forecast annual profit above market expectations, on bets that its wireless and fiber network expansion would allow the U.S. carrier to tap growing 5G and high-speed internet demand.

Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN) stock soared after the analog chipmaker’s rosy quarterly forecast showed the AI data center boom was driving demand for chips beyond Nvidia’s advanced processors.

Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) stock gained after the memory device maker reported second-quarter adjusted earnings that exceeded expectations, helped by the rapid buildout of artificial intelligence data centers.

Swedish streaming platform Spotify (NYSE:SPOT) paid out more than $11 billion to the music industry in 2025, marking the largest annual payment to music from a retailer in history.

Gold hits another record high

Gold prices hit a record high above $5,300 an ounce on Wednesday as strong haven demand, underpinned by caution before the conclusion of the Fed meeting later in the day, and prolonged weakness in the dollar benefited metal markets.

Other precious metals also remained upbeat, with silver and platinum both remaining close to recent record highs. 

Oil prices edged higher, adding to the recent gains following the severe winter storm in the U.S.. 

Brent futures added 0.8% to $67.10 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped 1.1% to $63.09 a barrel.

Both benchmarks surged about 3% on Tuesday, after closing at the end of last week at their highest points since January 14. 

Estimates suggest U.S. producers lost up to 2 million barrels per day, or roughly 15% of national output, as the storm disrupted energy infrastructure and power grids.

Ayushman Ojha contributed to this article