Net inflows into Jamaican FX market on Wednesday, ended with US$7 million more foreign currency being bought, than sold by dealers, bringing the surplus bought by them to US$89 million since the end of June. In Wednesday’s trading, dealers bought US$44,986,438 while they sold US$37,620,031, compared to US$30,368,738 purchased and US$30,794,502 sold on Tuesday of all currencies, as the Jamaican dollar appreciated against all major currencies.
In US dollar trading, dealers bought US$9 million more in United States currency than they sold. They raked in US$41,842,638 compared to US$27,604,778 on Tuesday but that did not prevent a rise in the rate. The buying rate for the US dollar fell 20 cents to $125.87.
A total of US$32,713,341 was sold versus US$29,108,096 on Tuesday with the selling rate rising 4 cents to end at $126.36. The Canadian dollar buying rate fell 31 cents to end at $93.47, with dealers buying C$889,172 and selling C$2,971,092, at an average rate that jumped $2.40 to $98.59. The average rate for buying the British Pound climbed $2.60 to $164.86 for the purchase of £1,803,849, while only £518,022 was sold, with the rate falling $1.31 to $165.21.
At the end of trading, the selling rate for Euro, climbed 7 cents to close at J$139.40 from Tuesday’s rate, according to data from Bank of Jamaica, while dealers purchased the European common currency at J$135.05, for $1.30 more than on Tuesday. The US dollar equivalent of other currencies traded amounts to US$120,884 being bought, while US$1,911,277 was sold.
Highs & Lows| Notable changes to the highest and lowest traded rates, for the Jamaican dollar in the foreign exchange market on Wednesday, include, a drop of $1.76 in the highest buying rate of the Canadian Dollar to $98.16 and a fall of 83 cents in the lowest buying rate to end at $76.90, while the highest buying rate of the British Pound dropped $2.51 to close at $169.49, the lowest buying rate jumped $43.51 to $132.51. the highest selling rate dropped $4.24 to $170.83 and the lowest selling rate fell $1.65 to $157.60.
TTSE on the mend – Tuesday
Scotiabank jumped $2.97 on Tuesday
At the close on Tuesday, 13 securities traded as 6 stocks gained, 3 declined and 4 remained unchanged. One stock traded at a 52 weeks’ low. The market closed with 130,829 shares valued at $2,628,992 changing hands.
The Composite Index rose by 1.76 points to close at 1,149.60, the All T&T Index gained 4.94 points to close at 1,812.37 and the Cross Listed Index declined by 0.20 points to close at 64.79.
IC bid-offer Indicator| The Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator ended with 8 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 8 with offers that were lower.
Gains| Ansa Merchant Bank gained 50 cents in trading 975 shares to close at $40, First Citizens gained 25 cents in trading 18,286 shares valued at $640,363 to close at $35.25, Grace Kennedy contributed just 100 shares, to gain 2 cents and closed at a 52 weeks’ high, of $5.77.
Guardian Holdings traded 380 shares and gained 6 cents to close at $12.64, Scotiabank contributed 1,945 shares and jumped $2.97 to end at $55 and Trinidad and Tobago NGL closed with 3,500 shares changing hands at $23.49 after gaining 29 cents.Losses| Angostura Holdings traded 200 shares, lost 10 cents to close at $13.50, Firstcaribbean International Bank declined by 2 cents and traded 16,424 shares to end at $7.08 and Sagicor Financial Corporation closed with 53,301 shares valued at $373,107 changing hands, to end with a loss of 14 cents at $7.
Firm Trades| Ansa McAl traded 35 units at $62.34, Guardian Media traded 2,663 shares with the price remaining at $19.75, Massy Holdings traded 18,600 shares for a value of $1,055,178 changing hands at $56.73 and National Enterprises traded 14,420 shares at $10.75.
Lasco Manufacturing 3m trade – Tuesday
Junior market trading improved on Tuesday over the low levels on Monday. The market closed with 13 securities being active accounting for more than 4 million shares changing hands compared to less than 1 million on Monday. The junior index closed higher at 2,155.14 with a rise of 3.10 points as 4 stocks gained and 3 declined.
At the close of the market on Tuesday, 4,344,805 units traded, valued at $20,712,312, as Lasco Manufacturing traded just over 3 million shares. A total of 5 stocks closed with bids higher than their last selling prices and 3 ended with lower offers.
At the close, Blue Power traded only 750 shares at $16.18, Cargo Handlers ended with 5,198 shares changing hands, at $46, Caribbean Cream gained 30 cents and ended at a 52 weeks’ closing high of $7, with 47,383 shares traded, Derrimon Trading traded at $3.05 with 530,506 shares changing hands. General Accident gained 10 cents in trading 5,844 units at $2.15, Honey Bun rose 1 cent while trading 131,308 shares to close at $5.60, Iron Rock Insurance 
fell 35 cents in trading 9,000 shares and closed at $3.20, Knutsford Express had 119 units changing hands, to close at $15. Lasco Distributors ended with 183,959 shares changing hands, but rose 4 cents to $7.10, Lasco Financial ended with a loss of 9 cents while 398,448 shares changed hands at $3.26, Lasco Manufacturing closed at $5.01 with 3,015,390 shares trading to gain 1 cent. Medical Disposables traded 11,900 shares to close at $3.10 and Derrimon Trading preference share ended with 5,000 shares changing hands to end at $2.08,
Stockpile jumps US$17M on Monday
Net inflows into Jamaican FX market ended at US$82 million in just over the last three weeks as inflows continue to exceed outflows. So far, the build-up has not had a great deal of impact on rates, with the US dollar closing at $126.28, compared to $126.38 at the end of June.
In Monday’s trading, dealers bought US$53,836,136 while they sold only US$36,901,981, compared to US$33,384,248 purchased and US$24,963,354 sold on Friday of all currencies, as the Jamaican dollar appreciated against all major currencies.
In US dollar trading, dealers bought US$51,088,781 compared to US$30,676,215 on Friday as the buying rate for the US dollar fell 1 cent to $125.69. A total of US$34,939,544 was sold versus US$23,514,139 on Friday with the selling rate falling 11 cents to end at $126.28. 
The Canadian dollar buying rate declined $1.85 cents to end at $92.87, with dealers buying C$1,034,930 and selling C$766,532, at an average rate that fell $1.16 to $96.76. The average rate for buying the British Pound fell 59 cents to $163.17 for the purchase of £1,386,112, while £815,168 was sold, with the rate falling $2.72 to $165.79.
At the end of trading, the selling rate for Euro, rose $1.64 to close at J$142.22 from Friday’s rate, according to data from Bank of Jamaica, while dealers purchased the European common currency at J$134.87, for a fall of $4.82 from Friday’s rate.
The US dollar equivalent of other currencies traded amounts to US$183,184 being bought, while US$304,830 was sold.
Highs & Lows| Notable changes to the highest and lowest traded rates, for the Jamaican dollar in the foreign exchange market on Monday, include, a drop of $1.20 in the lowest selling rate of the Canadian Dollar to $91.30 while the highest buying rate of the British Pound climbed 98 cents to $172.63, the lowest buying rate rose 33 cents to end at $134.79, the highest selling rate jumped $2.74 to end at $175.39 and the lowest selling rate fell $1 to end at $159.
Business confidence set to recover
Business confidence levels dipped in May this year, as measured by the Bank of Jamaica Perception of Present and Future Business Conditions survey and by the stock market movements. The local stock market has since rebounded and is close to its historic peak at Mid July, an indication that business confidence levels are set to rebound when measured in the summer months.
No new data is out from Jamaica’s central bank, of the latest levels. With the stock market having been rebounding, government fiscal program ahead of target and the Jamaica dollar settling down recently, the prospect of a rebound in survey numbers seems to be on the cards. Historical data indicate that the stock market is one of the best measure of business confidence levels, with the chart showing how closely the market index tracks the movement of future business confidence.
According to the survey findings, the perceptions of both present and future business conditions moderated compared to the record highs of the previous two surveys (see chart). Notably, the index of present business conditions fell 6 percent to 213.1 from the 226.1 attained in the previous survey. The index of future business conditions declined more slowly than the current measure by 2.6 percent from 171.5 in the previous survey to 167.1.
Both indices reflected declines in the proportion of respondents of the view that conditions were or will be “better.” In addition there were increases in the number of respondents indicating that conditions were or will be “worse.” There was, however, an increase in the proportion of respondents that indicated that conditions were or would be ‘about the same’ for both indices.
JSE fails to build on Thursday’s gains
The Jamaica Stock Exchange indices declined moderately at the close on Friday, down sharply from the big gains on Thursday, as more stocks declined than gained. The JSE Market Index slipped 141.33 points to end at 159,770.09, the all Jamaica Composite Index fell 158.06 points to close at 177,513.15 and the JSE combined index fell 144.38 points, to end at 170,332.98.
The market closed another day of moderate trading, with 2,802,737 units valued at $23,002,742 changing hands, in all market segments. The junior market accounted for 1,509,505 units traded valued at $8,532,147, of all trades. A total of 31 securities traded, with the prices of 9 stocks rising, 15 declining, including 8 stocks rising and 6 declining from the junior market, as the main market continues to consolidate while waiting for fresh and important news to move out of the narrow trading range.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading showed 9 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 3 with lower offers.
At the end of market activities, Berger Paints traded 8,793 shares at $4.50, Cable & Wireless traded 320,300 shares but fell 2 cents to close at $1.11, Caribbean Cement traded 3,140 shares to close at $22.50, Carreras fell 50 cents in trading 2,000 shares at $64.50 at the close. 1834 Investments traded 496,750 shares after falling 14 cents to close at $1, Grace Kennedy dropped $2.01 to close at $120.49 with 16,697 units changing hands. Jamaica Broilers ended with 66,000 units changing hands with a rise of 1 cent to close at $15, JMMB Group traded 8,579 units to end at $10. Mayberry Investments lost 20 cents in trading only 100 units at $3.30, National Commercial Bank ended with 34,174 units changing hands but lost 20 cents to close at $41.80,
Pan Jamaican Investment Trust traded 32,730 shares to close at $23 after falling $2, Portland JSX ended with 15,700 shares changing hands and declined 10 cents to $12.90. Sagicor Group ended with 28,605 shares changing hands, but lost 40 cents to $23.10. Scotia Group lost 73 cents with 177,931 shares trading, to close at $30.07, Scotia Investments traded 12,900 shares to gain $1 and close at $26, Supreme Ventures traded 4,007 shares and gained 30 cents to end at $4.60 and Proven Investments ordinary shares traded 46,550 units at 17 US cents up from 16.95 US cents.
US$8M more stockpiled Friday
Net inflows into Jamaican FX market ended at just over US$65 million in the last three weeks as inflows continue to exceed outflows. So far, the build-up has not had a great deal of impact on rates, with the US dollar closing at $126.39, compared to $126.38 at the end of June. In Friday’s trading, dealers bought US$33,384,248 while they sold only US$24,963,354, compared to US$31,271,588 purchased and US$26,915,897 sold on Thursday of all currencies.
In US dollar trading, dealers bought US$30,676,215 compared to US$28,969,620 on Thursday as the buying rate for the US dollar fell 1 cent to $125.70. A total of US$23,514,139 was sold versus US$25,427,424 on Thursday with the selling rate rising by 3 cents to end at $126.39. 
The Canadian dollar buying rate rose by 64 cents to end at $94.72, with dealers buying C$1,087,177 and selling C$372,283, at an average rate that rose $1.69 to $97.92. The average rate for buying the British Pound lost 4 cents to $163.76 for the purchase of £1,353,499, while £417,196 was sold, with the rate rising 75 cents to $168.51.
At the end of trading, the selling rate for Euro, rose 90 cents to close at J$140.57 from Thursday’s rate, according to data from Bank of Jamaica, while dealers purchased the European common currency at J$139.69, for a rise of $2.44 from Thursday’s rate. 
The US dollar equivalent of other currencies traded amounts to US$125,437 being bought, while US$604,594 was sold.
Highs & Lows| Notable changes to the highest and lowest traded rates, for the Jamaican dollar in the foreign exchange market on Friday, include, a jump of $4.50 in the lowest selling rate of the Canadian Dollar to $92.50 while the highest buying rate of the British Pound climbed $4.35 to $171.65, the lowest buying rate rose 83 cents to end at $134.46, the highest selling rate dipped $1.23 to end at $172.65 and the lowest selling rate rose $2.30 to end at $160.
Juniors enjoy big jump – Thursday
Caribbean Cream climbed 55 cents in trading on Thursday to end at a new high of $6.05.
Caribbean Cream’s gain was in response to an 81 percent jump in profit to $71 million, for the May quarter, while that of Lasco Distributors, was a rebound from the sharp fall last week, of the stock reacting negatively to news to Pfizer’s suggestion, that the compensation for damages was put at US$518,000 instead of US$300 million claimed.
Activity increased on the junior market with more securities being active than on Wednesday. At the close of the market 422,443 units traded valued at $1,648,134, ending with 17 securities trading of which 8 advanced and 6 declined. At the end of trading, 4 stocks closed with bids higher than their last selling prices and 2 ended with lower offers.At the close, Blue Power gained 18 cents and ended at a 52 weeks’ high of $16.18, with 500 units changing hands, Caribbean Flavours traded 10,000 units to end at $6.75 with a loss of 25 cents, Caribbean Producers traded 9,120 units at $3.01, Consolidated Bakeries gained 3 cents in trading 22,350 shares to close at $2.03. Derrimon Trading gained 5 cents to end at $3.05 with 32,000 shares changing hands, General Accident traded 124,374 units at $2.05, Honey Bun fell 30 cents while trading 53,950 shares to close at $5.30, Jamaican Teas lost 4 cents in trading 6,761 shares and closed at $3.80.
Jetcon Corporation had 8,324 units changing hands with a loss of 5 cents at $2.65, Lasco Financial ended with 44,000 shares changing hands, but fell 5 cents to $3.35, Lasco Manufacturing gained 1 cent and closed at $5.01 with 68,023 shares trading. Medical Disposables traded 2,800 shares to close with a gain of 5 cents at $3.10, Paramount Trading fell by 50 cents to end with 10,158 shares changing hands at $10.50 and Eppley 9.5% preference share, ended with 6,200 units changing hands at $6.11.
JSE majors surged – Thursday
Grace Kennedy jumped $2.50 to close at $122.50 on Thursday .
The market closed another day of moderate trading, with 5,066,464 units valued at $183,411,832 changing hands, in all market segments. The junior market accounted for 422,443 units traded valued at $1,648,134, of all trades. A total of 39 securities traded, with the prices of 19 stocks rising, 10 declining, including 8 stocks rising and 6 declining from the junior market, as the main market continues to consolidate while waiting for fresh and important news to move out of the narrow trading range.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading showed 9 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 3 with lower offers, suggesting a day of more subdued gainers on Friday versus the numbers on Thursday.
At the end of market activities,
Berger Paints traded 504,496 shares at $4.50, Cable & Wireless traded 46,700 shares to close at $1.13, Caribbean Cement traded 1,000 shares and rose 50 cents to close at $22.50, Carreras fell 50 cents in trading 332,166 shares at $65 at the close. Ciboney traded 43,899 shares after falling 1 cent to close at 20 cents, Grace Kennedy jumped $2.50 to close at $122.50 with 767,291 units changing hands. Jamaica Broilers ended with 284,857 units changing hands with a rise of 15 cents to close at $14.99, Jamaica Producers traded 381,670 units and gained 90 cents to end at $7.50, Jamaica Stock Exchange traded 6,616 shares at $21.35 with a gain of 2 cents, Kingston Wharves traded 8,000 shares and rose by 99 cents to close at $15.99. Mayberry Investments traded 24,478 units at $3.50, 
National Commercial Bank ended with 117,095 units changing hands and rose $1 to $42. Pan Jamaican Investment Trust traded 1,211,217 shares to close at $25 after rising $1.05, Portland JSX ended with 172,701 shares changing hands and gained 25 cent at $13. Sagicor Group ended with 284,121 shares changing hands, to end with a rise of 45 cents at $23.50. Scotia Group climbed 78 cents with 407,100 shares trading, to close at $30.80, Seprod traded 11,330 shares and gained 50 cents to end at $17,Proven Investments ordinary shares traded 4,100 units at 16.95 US cents and Jamaica Money Market 7.5% preference share traded 23,000 units at $2.09.
US$4M more stockpiled
Net inflows into Jamaican FX market continues to build, with another US$4 million added to the stock pile of dealers, bringing the net intake by authorized dealers in just over the last three weeks to US$57 million. With July being one of the high inflow months, net inflow is likely to build as the month rolls on and should have a moderating effect on the rate of exchange of the local dollar.
In Thursday’s trading, dealers bought US$31,271,588 while they sold only US$26,915,897, compared to US$34,994,312 purchased and US$24,571,087 sold on Wednesday of all currencies.
In US dollar trading, dealers bought US$28,969,620 compared to US$32,067,439 on Wednesday as the buying rate for the US dollar climbed 2 cents to $125.71. A total of US$25,427,424 was sold versus US$22,288,467 on Wednesday with the selling rate rising by 2 cents to end at $126.36. 
The Canadian dollar buying rate rose by 37 cents to end at $94.08, with dealers buying C$719,515 and selling C$374,474, at an average rate that declined $2.47 to $96.23. The average rate for buying the British Pound climbed $1.52 to $163.80 for the purchase of £862,147, while £433,881 was sold, with the rate rising $1.40 to $167.76.
At the end of trading, the selling rate for Euro, rose 89 cents to close at J$139.67 from Wednesday’s rate, according to data from Bank of Jamaica, while dealers purchased the European common currency at J$137.25, for a rise of $2.86 from Wednesday’s rate. The US dollar equivalent of other currencies traded amounts to US$640,080 being bought, while US$627,257 was sold.
Highs & Lows| Notable changes to the highest and lowest traded rates, for the Jamaican dollar in the foreign exchange market on Thursday, include, a fall of $1.55 in the highest buying rate of the Canadian Dollar to $97.50 while the lowest selling rate fell by $3 to $88. The highest buying rate of the British Pound dropped $4.22 to $167.30, the lowest buying rate jumped $1.41 to end at $133.63, the highest selling rate climbed $2.18 to end at $173.88.