Berger Paints reported a 61% increase in profits for the 9 months to December 2015, after trading closed.
The Jamaica Stock Exchange closed with 40 securities changing hands in all market segments, 24 of which gained and 8 declined with the junior market index climbing over 2 percent.
Two stocks closed at 52 weeks’ highs one at a 52 weeks’ low and one traded at intraday highs as 12,148,016 units valued at only $49,596,056 changed hands in all markets. The junior market accounted for 1,032,255 units changed hands, valued at $4,390,508.
The JSE Market Index climbed 1,182.30 points to 161,531.59 the all Jamaica Composite Index closed with a rise of 1,321.29 points to end at 179,476.96 and the JSE combined index gained 1,554.59 points to close at 172,394.70.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading was 9 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 1 with a lower offer.
At the end of the market activities, Berger Paints lost 7 cents to end at $3.63 as 26,559 units traded, the company released results to December with an increase of 61 percent in after tax profit of $153.6 million from $95.3 in 2014 for the nine months period on sales that rose 11 percent.
Cable and Wireless ended with 172,447 units changing hands to close at $1.59, Caribbean Cement climbed $1.95 to close at $28.60, with 8,800 shares changing hands. Grace Kennedy fell 50 cents and closed at $82.50, with 15,670 units changing hands but the stock traded on Friday in Trinidad at $4.15 and closed with a bid at $4.18 (J$78.16) on Monday. Jamaica Broilers fell 4 cents to $14.45 with 15,237 shares changing hands, Jamaica Stock Exchange gained 29 cents to $20 with 3,500 units trading, JMMB Group traded 26,728 units but gained 10 cents to end at $11, Kingston Wharves traded 9,245 units to close with a gain of 10 cents at $11.19. Mayberry Investments had 4,386 shares changing hands but rose 15 cents to $4.50, National Commercial Bank (NCB) traded 57,900 shares but rose $1.89 to close at $42.99 two trading days after the banking group released interim results to December, last year with a 12 percent increase in aftertax profit to $2.4 billion, from $2.1 billion. NCB stock traded in Trinidad on Friday at the equivalent of $5.20. 
Pan Jamaican Investment dropped $4 with just 2,930 units changing hands to close at $94, Pulse Investments traded 10,002,000 shares with a fall of 3 cents to close at $3.22 as Barita Investments crossed 10 million units. Sagicor Group gained 10 cents to close at $23 with 102,424 units changing hands, Scotia Group had 77,925 shares changing hands to close with a rise of 56 cents at $31.56, Scotia Investments had 1,000 shares trading to close with a gain of $1.90 at $29.90. Supreme Ventures closed at $6.20 and gained of 20 cents with 70,381 units changing hands, Proven Investments ordinary share traded 77,700 units to close at 22.89 US cents and JMMB 7.5% preference share traded 179,778 units at $2.25 after regaining 15 cents.
