Moroccan stocks slide as market panic spreads

RABAT, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Moroccan stocks tumbled on Friday to their lowest level in more than a year as panic on world financial markets overshadowed optimism that the country is well placed to weather recessions and its banks robust.

The benchmark index was down 4 percent at 11,534.29 points at 1351 GMT after touching 11,466.36, its lowest since July 2007. The index has fallen 4.8 percent this year.

Banks BMCE (BMCE.CS) and Attijariwafabank (ATW.CS) were down 3.2 percent and 4.5 percent respectively while hotels firm Risma slid 5.8 percent to 308 dirhams ($83.85).

The benchmark soared 19 percent between the start of the year and mid-March, when it reached a record of 14,960 points. Since then it has steadily declined, with losses becoming steeper in the last month.

"It's a panic, just the same as everywhere else," said a Casablanca analyst who asked not to be named. "But everyone knows Moroccan banks are safe as no one here can invest in subprime mortgages."

Real estate firms powered the biggest Maghreb stock market in recent years as investors sought to benefit from a local building boom and accelerating private sector investment in the north African country of 33 million inhabitants.

Morocco has been seen as a safe haven among emerging markets due to restrictions on capital flight, growing tourism receipts and remittances from Moroccans working abroad and forecasts of quickening economic growth.

REAL ESTATE CONCERN

But analysts have voiced concern over the real estate sector outlook in recent weeks as the credit crisis could dry up some of the inward investment that underpins company earnings.

Traders said real estate firm Addoha (ADH.CS) -- until this year a star performer of the Casablanca bourse since its 2006 IPO -- had sought to reassure analysts at a meeting this week.

Less than 10 percent of Addoha's projects were aimed at foreigners and demand for social and middle-income housing was still strong, they cited the company as saying.

Addoha stock slid 6 percent to 128.35 dirhams, taking its decline this year to 60 percent. Rival Alliances Developpement Immobilier (ADI.CS), which listed in July, slipped 4.1 percent.

"People seem to think everything is going to stop, which is not the case," said the analyst. "We're not going to go from 7 million tourists to zero, but we will have less fun next year and less money coming from abroad."

Addoha was one of several firms to report first-half profit gains in recent weeks, but the solid results went little way to reassure the market.

"The attitude of the market does not fit with the results that were announced," said an intermediary at a large Moroccan bank, who said they were advising clients to hold their shares until the outlook became clearer. (Reporting by Tom Pfeiffer; Editing by Victoria Bryan)