Lumber Depot is IC TOP10 best performing stock in the past week with the price surging to $2 from $1.46 at the end of the previous week to close at $1.95 on Friday with a 32 percent rise. Jamaican Teas was next moving from $2.48, scaling a number of record highs to close with a gain of 16.5 percent for the week with the price closing at $2.89 on Friday.
Lumber Depot is the JSE stock gaining the most in the past week.
Caribbean Cream is the other Junior Market stock to post good gains for the week, with the price closing at $4.95 from $4.70 at the end of the previous week.
The Junior Market is up 4 percent since the 2020 close, that may not appear to be much, but if the gains continue at this pace for the rest of the year, the market will gain 67 percent get to more than 4,400 points. The market is currently powered by a bullish golden cross, setting to take the market beyond 3,000 points. The release of December results will play a big role in the next few weeks that will add fuel to the current gains.
The Main Market continues to slip in January, but technical indicator points to it heading towards the 460,000 points level on the All Jamaica Composite Index, in months.
The current TOP 10 report is based on earnings for 2020/21 as there are substantial gains ahead, for many stocks in the listings.
This week’s focus: Tropical Battery released audited accounts that saw profit dropping well below the $73 million 
initially reported by the company to just $29 million with the stock selling off to a low of 95 cents but bounced a bit thereafter.
Increase in taxation, depreciation and finance cost, were the main reasons for the decline in profit. ICInsider.com projects 8 cents per share earnings for the current year.
The audited accounts state that 1.3 billion shares are issued by the company, but further on in the note on share capital, it reports that a resolution was passed to increase the share capital by subdividing 250,000 the then issued shares by 4,550, resulting in 1.130 billion shares, instead of 1.1375 billion units that were issued. The note also suggests that the company issued 325 million shares to the public but omits to state that a portion was sold on behalf of existing shareholders.
The top three stocks in the Junior Market with the potential to gain between 208 to 363 percent are Caribbean Producers followed by Elite Diagnostic and Lasco Financial. With expected gains of 124 to 331 percent, the top three Main Market stocks are, Berger Paints followed by Scotia Group and Carreras.
The local stock market’s targeted average PE ratio is 20 based on profits of companies reporting full year’s results, from now to the second quarter in 2021. The Junior and Main markets are currently trading well below the market average, indicating strong gains ahead. The JSE Main Market ended the week, with an overall PE of 17.1 and the Junior Market 15, based on ICInsider.com’s projected 2020-21 earnings. The PE ratio for the Junior Market Top 10 stocks average a mere 7.9 at just 53 percent of the market average. The Main Market TOP 10 stocks trade at a PE of 9.3 or 55 percent of the PE of that market.
The average projected gain for the Junior Market IC TOP 10 stocks is 174 percent and 127 percent for the JSE Main Market, based on 2020-21 earnings. IC TOP10 stocks are likely to deliver the best returns up to March 2021 and ranked in order of potential gains, based on likely gain for each company, taking into account the earnings and PE ratios for the current fiscal year. Expected values will change as stock prices fluctuate and result in movements in and out of the lists weekly. Revisions to earnings per share are ongoing, based on receipt of new information.
Persons who compiled this report may have an interest in securities commented on in this report.
The rally for the year to date is not broad-based. It is driven by a small number of stocks, primarily, Express Catering, FoshRich, Jamaican Teas, Mailpac, Lumber Depot, Caribbean Cream and Lasco Manufacturing.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows two stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and three with lower offers.
Lasco Manufacturing climbed 39 cents to $4.11 with 44,773 shares traded, Limners and Bards advanced 19 cents to $2.80 with a transfer of 92,336 stocks, Paramount Trading increased by 14 cents to $1.44 with a transfer of 5,086 stock units and Stationery and Office Supplies advanced 15 cents to $4.50 with 87,147 shares passing through the market.
At the close, the All Jamaican Composite Index advanced by 1,123.91 points to 422,982.26, the Main Index rose 1,017.06 points to 385,859.59 and the JSE Financial Index gained 0.32 points to settle at 98.63.
Sagicor Real Estate Fund advanced by 70 cents to close at $8.95, in clearing the market with 193 units, Salada Foods rose 99 cents to $35 while exchanging 300 stock units and Scotia Group finished 60 cents higher at $44.60, with 75,000 shares changing hands.
JSE USD Equity Index lost 2.17 points to end at 194.70, to be up 4.5 percent for 2021 to date after trading ended with six securities changing hands at the close, up from three on Thursday with one stock rising, three declining and two remaining unchanged.
At the close of the market, First Rock Capital Investment fell 0.04 of a cent to close at 7.96 US cents trading 3,973 shares, Proven Investments dropped 3.95 cents in closing at 23.03 US cents after exchanging 2,853 stocks. Sygnus Credit Investments gained 1.94 cents to close at 16.99 US cents after 173,225 units changed hands and Transjamaican Highway dropped 0.01 of a cent to close at 0.85 US cents after an exchange of 850,021 shares.
National Enterprises climbed 3 cents to $3.21 in switching ownership of 79,162 shares, National Flour declined by 5 cents to $2.55 in exchanging 125,800 stocks, NCB Financial lost 19 cents in closing at $8.31, with 50,045 stock units changing hands. Republic Financial Holdings gained 18 cents to close at $136.18 in exchanging 260 shares, Scotiabank lost 50 cents in ending at $57 with 1,134 units clearing the exchange, Trinidad & Tobago NGL lost 60 cents to end at $15.24 with the swapping of 100 stock units. Trinidad Cement advanced 35 cents to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $3.75 in exchanging 68,000 stock units, Unilever Caribbean carved out a gain of 7 cents to end at $16.70 with 3,059 shares changing hands and West Indian Tobacco closed at $35.40 in an exchange of 5,664 stocks units.
Trading continued to be affected by the 
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows no stock ended with bids or offers higher or lower than their last selling prices.
At the close, the market is down 2.7 percent for the year so far (39 percent annualized) as the All Jamaican Composite Index dropped 1,727.89 points to 421,858.35, the Main Index fell by 1,536.26 points to 384,842.53 and the JSE Financial Index lost 1.21 points to settle at 98.31.
Trading averaged 612,451 units at $1,184,975, versus 235,221 shares at $2,649,800 on Wednesday. Trading month to date averaged 310,349 units at $1,157,230, in contrast to 288,359 units at $1,155,210 on Wednesday. Trading in December averaged 455,206 units at $7,774,631.
Proven Investments finished 40 cents higher at $36.90, in an exchange of 5,239 stock units, Sagicor Real Estate Fund shed 70 cents in closing at $8.25, in clearing the market with 2,042 shares, Scotia Group slipped 30 cents to $44 while exchanging 7,718 stocks. Stanley Motta gained 39 cents to settle at $5.45, in trading 296 stock units, Supreme Ventures rose 50 cents to close at $17.50, with the swapping of 50,071 shares and Sygnus Credit Investments advanced by 99 cents to $18.39, with 5,816 units changing hands.
December averaged 263,428 units at $638,694.
Lasco Financial dropped 14 cents to $2.51 in exchanging 25,330 shares, Lasco Manufacturing slipped 18 cents to $3.72 trading 42,196 stock units, Limners and Bards lost 9 cents in closing at $2.61, with 44,572 shares crossing the market. Lumber Depot rose 22 cents to $1.93, in exchanging 153,241 stock units, Main Event added 24 cents to close at $3.24 trading 7,510 shares. Paramount Trading shed 14 cents to settle at $1.30, with 104,200 stocks crossing the exchange and Tropical Battery lost 6 cents to close at $1.04, with 316,244 shares changing hands.
Trading ended with 12 securities changing hands, a drop from 18 on Wednesday, with the prices of four rising, two declining and six remaining unchanged. The Composite Index slipped 0.56 points to 1,329.70, the All T&T Index lost 1.12 points to end at 1,768.27 and the Cross Listed Index remained at 120.51.
National Flour remained at $2.60 with an exchange of 9,925 units, NCB Financial Group settled at $8.50 after exchanging 578 stocks. One Caribbean Media closed at $4.75 with 1,263 shares changing hands, Republic Financial Holdings fell 76 cents in closing at $136 in an exchange of 200 stock units, Scotiabank remained at $57.50 while trading 1,286 stock units. Trinidad & Tobago NGL carved out a gain of 9 cents at $15.84 with 7,689 units changing hands and West Indian Tobacco closed at $35.40 while trading 25,998 stock units.
