Sale of all currencies by dealers exceeded the amounts bought by US$2 million on Wednesday as the Jamaican dollar slipped against the British Pound and the Canadian dollar but held firm against the US dollar. Dealers bought the equivalent of US$26,615,499 compared with US$33,963,876, on Tuesday while they sold the equivalent of US$28,759,140 versus US$37,019,836 previously.
In US dollar trading, dealers bought US$23,232,481 compared to US$29,012,318 on Tuesday. The buying rate for the US dollar declined by 19 cents at $115.55 and US$26,875,275 was sold versus US$33,329,699 on Tuesday, the selling rate remained at $116.26. The Canadian dollar buying rate slipped 15 cents to $92.56 with dealers buying C$1,291,758 and selling C$740,662, at an average rate that rose $1.15 to $94.99. 
The rate for buying the British Pound dropped 41 cents to $176.17 for the purchase of £1,496,192, while £617,593 was sold, at an average rate that rose by 46 cents to $178.36. At the end of trading it took J$130.73 to purchase the Euro, 50 cents more than on Tuesday, according to data from Bank of Jamaica, while dealers purchased the European common currency at J$128.19 for 52 cents higher than Tuesday’s rate. Other currencies bought, amounted to the equivalent of US$67,275, while the equivalent of US$331,234, was sold.
Highs & Lows| The highest buying rate for the US dollar fell 10 cents to $116.35, the lowest buying rate gained $6.69 to $95.19, the highest selling rate remained unchanged at $121.98, but the lowest selling rate dropped $2.26 to $95.19. 
The highest buying rate for the Canadian dollar rose $2.09 to $96.39, the lowest buying rate climbed 45 cents to $74.82, the highest selling was up 68 cents at $97.18 and the lowest selling rate rose $1.40 to $91. The highest buying rate for the British Pound, increased $2.05 to $180.75, the lowest buying rate rose 87 cents to $143.01, with the highest selling rate climbing $2.19 to $183.66 and the lowest selling rate rose $2.30 to $174.30.
J$ firm vs US dollar on Wednesday
138 Student Living big trades
138 Student Living ordinary share closed at a new low of $4
On a day the junior market reached a new all-time high with 7 stocks advancing and none losing, with 4 stocks closing at new highs, the main market slipped, with only 3 stocks advancing with all losses coming from this market. The markets closed with the prices of 10 stocks rising, 11 declining as 31 securities changed hands, ending in 28,982,879 units trading, valued at $131,346,625, and 7 new 52 weeks’ highs and 1 new low, in all market segments
TheJSE Market Index lost 310.43 points to 97,890.06, the JSE All Jamaican Composite index fell 346.98 points to close at and the 108,353.72 JSE combined index dropped 220.38 points to end at 100,762.69.IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows 9 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 8 with offers that were lower. The junior market that recorded all gains showed weakness at the end with 5 stocks closing with lower offers than the last sale and only 2 with bids that were higher.
Stocks trading include, Cable & Wireless with 645,332 shares changing hands with a loss of 1 cent to close at 44 cents. Desnoes & Geddes closing with 870,000 stock units trading at $8, Grace Kennedy had 10,000 shares changing hands at $63.90 to lose 1 cent, Hardware & Lumber closed with 7,147 shares trading to end with a gain of $1 at a new 52 weeks’ high of $19. Investors continue to react to Jamaica Stock Exchange big jump in profits and announcement of a 53 cents dividend as they snapped up the 50,000 stock units on sale and still wanted more with bids at $6.00 to $6.55 to buy 162,000 units. The stock gained 25 cents for the day and closed at $6. JMMB Group saw 179,100 shares trading, to close at $7.26, down 24 cents, 138 Student Living traded 12,202,200 stock units and lost 40 cents to end at $4.
Sagicor Group had 16,457 shares trading with a gain of 24 cents to end at a new 52 weeks’ high of $12.30, the stock closed with a bid of $13.20 to buy 1,000 shares, posted at 12:24 pm on Wednesday. Sagicor Real Estate Fund traded 63,800 stock units at $7.60, Scotia Group had 31,000 shares trading, to close with a 10 cents loss at $24.40, Scotia Investments fell $3.57 with 6,300 stock units trading, to end at $26.28. Seprod lost 50 cents with 6,888 shares trading, to close at $15.49, Proven Investments traded 229,035 stock units at 21 US cents, Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share trading 1,401,000 units at $2.03 while 138 Student Living preference share traded 12,000,000 units at $5 and Proven Investments 8% preference share traded 42,955 units at $5.
3 TTSE stocks rise none declined
Trading on the Trinidad Stock Exchange ended with 10 securities changing hands 3 of which advanced and 7 traded firm, with a total of 62,727 units, valued at $923,515.
At the close of the market, the Composite Index rose 0.07 points to close at 1,161.73, the All T&T Index gained 0.02 points to close at 1,970.58 and the Cross Listed Index increased by a mere 0.2 points to end at 46.31.
Gains| Stocks increasing in price at the close are, Clico Investment Fund with only 415 shares trading at $22.55, One Caribbean Media traded 550 shares and closed 1 cent higher at $22,42 and Sagicor Financial Corporation ended trading 6,842 units at $6.06 after rising 2 cents.
Firm Trades| Stocks closing with prices unchanged at the end of trading are, 
ANSA McAL trading 212 shares and closed at $67.07 while Angostura traded 371 shares at $13.95, First Citizens Bank traded 5,422 shares valued at $194,162, to close at $35.81, Guardian Holdings closed at $14.05 while trading 30,000 shares carrying a value of $421,500. Massy Holdings traded 2,855 shares valued at $183,719to close at $64.35, Scotia Investments closed with 3,460 shares changing hands and closed at $1.47 and Trinidad Cement ended the day at $2.90, with 12,600 shares changing hands.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 1 stock with the bid higher than their last selling prices and 2 stocks with lower offers.
Four new highs for JSE
The Jamaica Stock Exchange is enjoying moderate gains in the indices helped by 4 
stocks reaching new highs in both the main and junior markets after 45 minutes of trading.
The Jamaica Stock Exchange share reached a new high of $6.10 but drifted down to $6, twenty five cents above Tuesday’s close with demand still in for the stock with a bid of $6, Lasco Financial hit $2 for the first time, but with a small volume. Caribbean Cream traded at a new high of $1.65 with 10,000 units changing hands and Honey Bun is trading at a new 52 weeks’ high of $2.96. The largest trade has been Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share with 1,000,000 units at $2.04.
Selling exceeds buying on Tuesday
Sale of all currencies by dealers exceeded the amounts bought by US$3 million on Tuesday as the Jamaican dollar slipped against the three main currencies it regularly trades against. Dealers bought the equivalent of US$33,963,876 compared with US$42,299,523, on Monday while they sold the equivalent of US$37,019,836 versus US$ $37,983,946 previously.
In US dollar trading, dealers bought US$29,012,318 compared to US$39,031,074 on Monday. The buying rate for the US dollar gained 6 cents at $115.74 and US$33,329,699 was sold versus US$36,387,817 on Monday, the selling rate rose 3 cent to $116.26. 
The Canadian dollar buying rate jumped $2.25 to $92.71 with dealers buying C$1,886,229 and selling C$1,600,514, at an average rate that rose 62 cents to $93.84. The rate for buying the British Pound climbed $2.35 to $176.58 for the purchase of £2,157,374, while £1,211,712, was sold, at an average rate that rose by 45 cents to $177.90. At the end of trading it took J$130.23 to purchase the Euro, $1.12 more than on Monday, according to data from Bank of Jamaica, while dealers purchased the European common currency at J$127.67 for 98 cents higher than Monday’s rate. Other currencies bought, amounted to the equivalent of US$149,391, while the equivalent of US$544,350, was sold.
Highs & Lows| The highest buying rate for the US dollar rose 5 cents to $116.45, the lowest buying rate gained 44 cents to $88.50, the highest selling rate remained unchanged at $121.98, but the lowest selling rate climbed $2.26 to $97.45. 
The highest buying rate for the Canadian dollar rose 30 cents to $94.30, the lowest buying rate climbed 75 cents to $74.37, the highest selling was unchanged at $96.50 and the lowest selling rate rose 90 cents to $89.60. The highest buying rate for the British Pound, increased 20 cents to $178.70, the lowest buying rate jumped $7.14 to $142.14, with the highest selling rate falling $1.77 to $181.47 and the lowest selling rate rose 75 cents to $172.
Big pay day for JSE shareholders
The Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) will pay out $74.33 million in the form of a dividend in July. The company listed 140.250 million ordinary shares on the exchange in 2013 is making its first dividend payment since listing.
JSE board of directors met on Monday and declared the payment of a dividend of fifty-three cents (53 cents) per share unit, payable on July 10 to shareholders on record as at June 26, 2015. The stock will trade ex dividend on June 24, 2015.
The share closed 2014 at $1.57 and gained 237.58 since the start of 2015, helped considerably by a jump in profit in the first quarter from a loss of $2 million to $87 million. A pick up in stock market activities also helped in driving demand for the stock as investors saw higher income and profit flowing in future quarters. The JSE reported a very small profit of $3 million for the year ended December last year. The dividend enjoys a yield of 33.75 percent based on the price at the end of last year and 10.5 percent based on the price last Friday and 9.2 percent based on Tuesday’s closing price of $5.75.
Rising stocks outnumber decliners
Activity on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, resulted in the prices of 16 stocks rising, 5 declining as 29 securities changed hands, ending in 2,166,650 units trading, valued at $9,438,928, and 8 stocks trading at new 52 weeks’ high, in all market segments. Trading was characterized by number of the stocks trading recorded relatively high levels of price movements.
TheJSE Market Index gained 411.58 points to 98,200.49, theJSE All Jamaican Composite index rose 460.04 points to close at 108,700.70 and the JSE combined index put on 519.16 points to end at 100,983.07.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows 7 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 4 with offers that were lower.
Stocks trading include, Barita Investments losing 14 cents with 334,867 shares trading to end at $2.51, Caribbean Cement with 365,811 shares closing at $5, Carreras ending with a 50 cents loss with 9,995 units to close at $49.50, Desnoes & Geddes traded 608 shares to rise cents to $8 having gained 45 cents. 
Jamaica Stock Exchange traded 37,000 units after the company announced a 53 cents dividend, payable in July and closed at $5.75 with a gain of 75 cents for a new high, National Commercial Bank ended with 42,811 shares changing hands $1 higher to end at $30. Pan Jamaican Investment traded 10,000 units to gain $1.50 and end at a 52 weeks’ high of $63.50, Sagicor Group ended with 121,095 shares trading at $12.06 for a 5 cents gain. Scotia Group had just 11,600 units trading to close $1.01 down at $24.50, Scotia Investments traded only 3,000 units to close up by $3.57 to $29.85, Supreme Ventures enjoyed trading in 21,700 shares at $3.60 and Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share traded 113,120 units at $2.11 for a 19 cents dip.
Junior market closes at new high
Dolphin Cove was one of 6 stocks ending at 52 weeks’ high
At the close of the market, there were 4 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 3 with lower offers. The junior market ended with 5 securities closing with no bids to buy and 9 securities that had no stocks being offered for sale.
Stocks trading in the junior market include, Access Financial with just 100 shares changing hands, to close lower by 25 cents at $16.75, Cargo Handlers finishing with 500 units to close with a gain of 51 cents, to a new all-time high of $23.51. Caribbean Cream with 435,000 shares trading at an all-time high of $1.55, gained 20 cents, Dolphin Cove finished trading with 1,000 shares to closed at an all-time high of $11, to gain 75 cents, Honey Bun concluded trading with 20,000 shares changing hands to close 25 cents higher at a 52 weeks’ high of $2.95.
Lasco Distributors traded 23,150 shares at $1.65, Lasco Financial Services finished trading with 495,970 units, with the price rising 4 cents to $1.95. Lasco Manufacturing traded 79,899 shares at $1.45, Paramount Trading ended with just 1,000 shares changing hands with an increase of 54 cents to $4.80, a new all-time high. The stock closed with a bid to buy 49,500 units at $5 and Eppley 9.5% preference share closed trading with 4,000 units and put on just 1 cent to $6.01 to new high, with a 1 cent gain.
Only 3 stock rose 1 fell on TTSE
Trading on the Trinidad Stock Exchange ended with 11 securities changing hands of which 3 advanced, 1 declined and 7 traded firm with a total of 718,142 units, valued at $1,958,691.
At the close of the market, the Composite Index rose 1.21 points to close at 1,161.66, the All T&T Index gained just 0.12 points to close at 1,970.56 and the Cross Listed Index increased by a mere 0.31 points to end at 46.29.
Gains| Stocks increasing in price at the close are, Clico Investment Fund with 4,400 shares trading, gained by 5 cents to end at $22.55, National Commercial Bank contributing 329,506 shares with a value of $283,784, to end at $1.80 up 4 cents and West Indian Tobacco ]traded 550 shares and closed at $125.40, up 7 cents.
Declines| JMMB Group with 314,254 shares being traded for $142,389 to close down by 2 cents at 45 cents to be the sole stock declining.
Firm Trades| Stocks closing with prices unchanged at the end of trading are, ANSA McAL trading 318 shares and closed at $67.07, First Citizens Bank trading 635 shares to close at $35.81. Guardian Holdings close at $14.05 while trading 40,000 shares with a value of $562,000, Massy Holdings traded 5,509 shares valued at $354,504 to close at $64.35, National Flour traded 1,000 units and closed at $2, Sagicor Financial Corporation traded 13,470 units at $6.04 and Scotia Investments ended with 8,500 shares changing hands at $1.47.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 1 stock with the bid higher than the last selling price and 2 stocks with lower offers.
