Activity on the JSE is subdued on Tuesday resulted in only 202,616 units changing hands as 17 securities traded with 5 coming from the junior market, so far 7 stocks gained in price and 4 declined.
After 95 minutes of trading, gains in a number of stocks including Sagicor Real Estate Fund, that traded at a new all-time high of $9, pushed the all Jamaican Composite index up 941.71 points to 110,064.79 points. JSE Combined Index gained 793.37 points to 102,590.33, JSE Index trades at 99,420.89 points after rising 842.51 points and Junior Market Index slipped 0.10 points to 977.08.
The Real Estate Fund reported profit of 8 cents in the June quarter down from 11 cents in the June 2014 quarter and 46 cents to June versus 27 cents for the six months to June last year. As the year progress earnings per share should fall, with the lower tourism inflows.
Archives for August 2015
Slow JSE morning session
NCB may give push to JSE soon
Supply is drying up for NCB
At the close, the JSE Market Index lost 129.98 points to 98,203.59,
the JSE All Jamaican Composite index fell 145.29 points to close at 108,705.88 and the JSE combined index added 66.62 points to end at 100,705.88.IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator showed a reading of 9 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 6 with offers that were lower.
In trading, Cable and Wireless ended with 42,253 units changing hands and lost a cent to 42 cents, Caribbean Cement traded 44,225 shares to close at $7.10 after shedding 35 cents, Carreras gained 25 cents with 6,715 units trading to close at $51, Gleaner traded at $1.25, down 5 cents after 15,300 shares changed hands. Grace traded 94,211 shares with a
gain of $1 at $65, Jamaica Broilers had 22,400 shares changing hands, in closing at $5.70, Mayberry Investments had another large trade amounting to 2.900,000 shares trading at $3. National Commercial Bank had just 10,286 shares trading, while losing 25 cents to end at $29.75, Pan Jamaican Investment closed at $61.05 after trading 114,309 shares, to gain 55 cents, Radio Jamaica had 25,830 units changing hands while gaining 2 cents to close at $3.02, Sagicor Group ended trading with 10,325 units at $12.99, Sagicor Real Estate Fund closed at $8 while trading 25,000 units, Scotia Group ended with 13,561 units trading unchanged at $24,for 34 cents rise and Scotia Investments traded 56,092 shares to rise 20 cents to $27.
J$ gained value on Monday
Purchases by dealers of foreign currencies on Monday, resulted in the Jamaican currency gaining value against the three main traded currencies. The market closed with dealers buying the equivalent of US$30,317,785 in contrast to US$35,830,362 on Friday, while they sold the equivalent of US$30,785,180, previously US$29,735,446.
In US dollar trading , dealers bought US$27,517,864 compared to US$30,913,429 on Friday. The buying rate for the US dollar fell 21 cents to $116.54 and US$29,516,249 was sold versus US$27,672,147 on Friday, the selling rate fell 6 cents to $117.36. The Canadian dollar buying rate dropped $1 to $87.05 with dealers buying C$1,352,247 and selling C$581,188, at an average rate that fell 
79 cents to $89.59. The rate for buying the British Pound dropped $1.07 to $179.64 for the purchase of £1,085,262, while £403,305 was sold, at an average rate that slipped 56 cents to $182.49. At the end of trading, it took J$129.73 to purchase the Euro, with an increase of $1.50 from Friday’s rate, according to data from Bank of Jamaica, while dealers purchased the European common currency at J$127.06 for a rise of $1.34 from Friday. Other currencies bought, amounted to the equivalent of US$117,139, while the equivalent of US$198,106 was sold.
Highs & Lows| The highest buying rate for the US dollar, rose 5 cents to $117.55, the lowest buying, the highest and lowest 
selling rates remained at $96.15, $123.21 and $96.15 respectively. The highest buying rate for the Canadian dollar jumped $1 to $91. The lowest buying rate rose 62 cents to $72.21, the highest selling rate leapt $3.50 to $96.50 and the lowest selling rate remained at $87. The highest buying rate for the British Pound, eased 10 cents to $183.20, the lowest buying rate rose 33 cents to $147.74, with the highest selling rate rising 43 cents to $190.46 and the lowest selling rate falling $1.70 to $178.
Product expansion at AMG
AMG Packaging (AMG) a junior market listed company advised the Jamaica Stock Exchange of their decision to expand into the manufacturing of toilet paper and hand towel. AMG will be manufacturing these additional products, at a facility leased on Orange Street, downtown Kingston and anticipates starting production by the end of October 2015.
The company says it “ is confident that this new venture will aid in decreasing the importation of products, provide meaningful employment opportunities subsequently assisting the growth of the Jamaican economy.”
AMG Packaging ventures into the new ventures at a time when it appears that real growth in it’s existing business has slowed considerable in the past year, the new business is likely to boost sales volume and ride on some of the existing overhead costs of the current Packaging operations.
AMG Packaging, currently, involved in the manufacturing of boxes, for packaging, reported a 42 percent jump in the nine months’ profits to May 2015 of $52 million, compared to $37 million in 2014. Profits grew 58 percent for the latest quarter to $21 million over that of 2014. Sales revenue rose just 4.5 percent for the nine months to May, this year, to reach $462 million and is up by 6 percent for the last quarter, hitting $161 million. The increased revenues in the May quarter and nine months to May this year, is well down on the strong 36 percent rise in the May 2014 quarter of $152 million and 40 percent in the nine months to May, to reach $442 million.
Toilet tissue and hand towels are products that are sensitive in nature including pricing, is likely to have a wider market than the existing products of the company.
Falling prices overwhelm on TTSE
Trading in the overall market ended with 15 securities changing hands on Monday with 1 stock gaining, 5 declining and 9 traded with the price unchanged. A total of only 322,715 shares traded, valued at $2,878,812, as Massy Holdings accounted for $11.5 million of the trade.
At the close of the market, the Composite Index fell 0.83 points to close at 1,154.09, the All T&T Index lost 2.18 points to 1,961.59 and the Cross Listed Index gained 0.07 points to close at 45.47.
Gains| In trading, National Flour closed with 29,416 shares trading for 4 cents higher at $2.10.
Declines| First Citizens lost 45 cents in trading 1,247 shares and closed at $35.25, National Enterprises closed with 535 shares trading a cent lower at $17.19, Praetorian Property Mutual Fund traded 14,000 units at $3.05 and lost 5 cents. Prestige Holdings had 600 shares changing hands at $9.87 but at 2 cents less than the prior trade, Republic Bank lost 1 cent in trading 4,944 shares valued at $568,461 to close at $114.98.
Firm Trades| Clico Investment Fund stock closed at $22.50 with 43,482 shares valued at $978,345, Firstcaribbean Bank traded 313 shares at $5.01, Grace Kennedy 
had 32,043 units changing hands at $3.65, Guardian Holdings had 8,548 units changing hands at $13.10, National Commercial Bank traded 43,838 shares at $1.65. Sagicor Financial Corporation with 128,408 shares changing hands for a value of $770,448 closed unchanged at $6, Scotiabank traded 1,111 units and closed at $62.31, Scotia Investments with 11,230 units changing hands $1.50 and Trinidad Cement closed at $2.90 with 3,000 shares trading.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 3 stocks with the bid higher than their last selling prices and 2 stocks with offers that were lower.
Juniors jump to new high on Monday.
The JSE junior market gained 34.79 points on Monday, to close at 977.18, for another new record high, beating the previous one reached on the last day of July, this year. The index gained over 16 percent since dipping to a recent low point of 841.74 points on July 27. Technical indicator shows resistance at around the 1,000 points level, if that is cleared decisively, then the juniors could be heading to 1,200 points before a major resistance come into play.
The juniors have now gained 42 percent for the year to date and 60 percent since the lows of the junior market last year, nearly 50 percent better than the main market index gain, an indicator that the junior stocks are once more asserting their dominance over the main market which was the case for sometime until the rally started in summer last year. This is a situation that will bear some watching, with the main market is in consolidation mood.
In actual trading on Monday, 9 securities changed hands with 5 rising and 2 declining resulting in 824,803 units valued at $1,577,521. The strong movement was aided by a $3 rise in the price of Access Financial that jumped to $18.50 but with only 100 shares trading.
At the close, the junior market had 5 stocks having bids higher than their last selling prices, 2 with lower offers. 6 securities closed with no bids to buy, while 7 had no stocks being offered for sale.
Stocks trading are, Access Financial gained $3 on top of the $2.74 rise to close at a new 52 weeks and all-time high of $18.50 but with just 100 units, Blue Power traded 872 units with the price falling 10 cents to $12.25, Caribbean Producers gaining 5 cents, with 10,000 shares and close at $3.05 but closed with an offer to sell 201480 shares at $2.75. General Accident had 7,250 shares 
changing hands for a gain of 7 cents to end at $1.86, Knutsford Express had 1,000 shares trading, firm at $6, Lasco Distributors traded 15,000 shares to close at a new 52 weeks’ high of $1.80, up 9 cents, the stock closed with low supply to sell at $1.74 and $2.13. There are only 4 offers in the market amounting 70,000 units. Lasco Financial Services traded 192,075 units and gained 29 cents to close at $1.75, Lasco Manufacturing with 255,521 shares trading unchanged $1.64 at the close, the stock closed with multiple bids at $1.65 to buy 1,328,000 units and with only 10,000 units on offer at $2.50 and Medical Disposables ended with 343,055 units and lost 10 cents to close $2.15.
