Trading on the Jamaica stock market on Monday continues to be modest, with 3,391,899 units valued at $45,816,950 in all market segments changing hands. All market indices lost ground as more stocks declined than rose. A total of 36 securities traded with the prices of 11 stocks rising, 15 fell, including 3 stocks rising and 8 declining from the junior market.
The junior market accounted for 626,581 shares valued at $2,868,043 of all trades.
The JSE Market Index dropped 392.24 points to end at 161,110.22. The all Jamaica Composite Index declined 438.67 points to close at 179,011.90 and the JSE combined index fell 455.71 points, to end at 172,082.96.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading showed 17 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 8 with lower offers.
At the end of market activities, Berger Paints gained 15 cents and ended at $4.50 while trading 104,073 units, Cable & Wireless traded 62,432 shares traded to close at $1.20, after gaining 2 cents, Caribbean Cement dropped $1 to close at $24 after trading 3,000 units. Carreras traded 128,030 shares but slipped 20 cents to $64.60, while 1834 Investments traded 363,105 shares to close at $1, Grace Kennedy lost $3 and closed at $120 with 8,491 units changing hands. Jamaica Broilers ended with 372,057 units changing hands and gained 20 cents to close at $15 as the company released audited accounts showing earnings per share of $1.44, up from 86 cents as the Jamaican operations saw a surge in segment profits of nearly $1 billion. Jamaica Producers traded 3,630 units after rising 10 cents to end at $48.10, Jamaica Stock Exchange traded 8,160 shares at $25.10, JMMB Group traded 27,985 units to close at $9.72. Kingston Wharves traded 3,222 units and gained 46 cents to close at $14.56, Mayberry Investments closed with 7,500 shares changing hands at $3.55, to record a gain of 3 cents, National Commercial Bank ended with 183,554 units changing hands with a fall of 10 cents to $41.90. 
Pan Jamaican Investment Trust dipped 49 cents in trading 216,417 shares to close at $25.01, Radio Jamaica fell 5 cents to close with 104,000 shares changing hands at $1.65, Sagicor Group ended with 187,634 shares changing hands at $23.05, Scotia Group rose 70 cents with 264,308 shares trading to close at $32, the stock traded as high as $32.60. Seprod lost 50 cents while trading 90,850 units, to end at $16.60, Supreme Ventures traded 14,840 units and gained 15 cents to close at $4.69, Proven Investments traded 260,600 units to close at 17 US cents but after hitting a 52 weeks’ low of 15 US cents and JMMB Group 7.5% preference share traded 126,340 shares to close at $1.04.
Juniors hit by 8 losers – Monday
The junior market closed trading on Monday with the market index falling by 8.94 points, to close at 2,206.70, disguising the wide gap in the decline, advance ratio. A total of 14 active securities compared to 13 on Friday traded but with only 626,581 shares valued at $2,868,043, changing hands on Monday.
At the close, 3 stocks advanced and 8 declined while two traded at new closing highs.
At the end of trading 7 stocks closed with bids higher than their last selling prices and 3 ended with lower offers.
At the end of trading, Caribbean Cream fell 45 cents with 16,400 shares changing hands, to end at $5.45, Caribbean Producers, gained 38 cents in trading 1,970 shares at $4.68, Consolidated Bakeries had 50,000 units changing hands, to close at $2, C2W Music traded 10,000 and lost 1 cent to close at 28 cents. Derrimon Trading Company had 32,000 shares trading with a loss of 25 cents to end at $2.95, Dolphin Cove traded 6,083 shares, to end with a fall of 10 cents at $11.65, 
General Accident Insurance closed at $2.05 with 16,427 units trading. Honey Bun fell 45 cents to close at $5.60 with 51,022 units changing hands, Iron Rock Insurance traded 9.838 shares and rose 5 cents to close at $3.35, Jetcon Corporation traded only 900 units at $2.95, Knutsford Express fell 70 cents in trading a mere 460 shares to end at $16.80. Lasco Distributors fell 12 cents in trading 11,893 units to end at $7.38, Lasco Financial slipped 25 cents and ended with 25,341 shares changing hands at $3.20 and Lasco Manufacturing closed at $5.01 with 394,247 shares trading after rising by a cent.
Big JSE jump to start July
Scotia Group contributed a large portion of the nearly 2,000 points gain in the AJ Index on Friday.
Two stocks closed at new highs. The junior market accounted for 1,681,148 shares valued at $7,205,861 of all trades.
The JSE Market Index climbed 1,731.65 points to end at 161,502.46. The all Jamaica Composite Index jumped 1,996.34 points to close at 179,450.57 and the JSE combined index gained 1,785.02 points, to end at 172,538.67.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading showed 11 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 6 with lower offers.
At the end of market activities, Berger Paints gained 5 cents and ended at $4.35 while 6,800 units were traded, Cable & Wireless traded 150,647 shares traded to close at $1.18, Caribbean Cement jumped $1 to close at $25 after trading 4,160 units. Carreras traded 1,425 shares but slipped 40 cents to $65. Ciboney gained 1 cent while trading at 21 cents with 140,000 shares changing hands, 1834 Investments traded 221,434 shares to close at $1, Grace Kennedy lost $3 and closed at $120 with 8,491 units changing hands, Jamaica Broilers ended with 119,956 units changing hands and gained 5 cents to close at $14.80. Jamaica Producers traded 10,000 units after rising 1 cent to end at $48, Jamaica Stock Exchange gained 10 cents to end at 52 weeks’ high of $25.10 while trading 1,931 shares, JMMB Group traded 36,304 units to close at $9.72. Kingston Wharves traded 1,400 units and gained 20 cents to close at $14.10, Margaritaville Turks closed with 159,040 shares changing hands at 19 US cents, National Commercial Bank ended with 100,328 units changing hands with a fall of $1 to $42, Pan Jamaican Investment Trust dipped 50 cents and traded 8,000 shares to close at $25.50.
Radio Jamaica rose 7 cents to close with 6,000 shares changing hands at $1.70, Sagicor Group gained 2 cents in ending with 135,000 shares changing hands at $23.05, Sagicor Real Estate Fund traded 47,905 shares and rose 3 cents to close at $10.15. Scotia Group rose 52 cents with 572,909 shares trading to close at $31.30, the stock traded as high as $32.89 and ended with an average trading price of $32.65. Supreme Ventures ended trading, with 304,000 units trading with a gain of 1 cent at $4.54. Proven Investments traded 18,500 units at 17 US cents and JMMB Group US 6% preference share, traded 15,610 units and gained 10 cents, to close at US$1.10.
1 week stability for Jam$ vs US
The Jamaica dollar had one of the best period against the United States dollar this week, with the selling rate hardly moving from the close of Friday, June 23 of $126.35 and only moving by 3 cents at the close on Thursday to end the month at $126.38. The near stability comes against the back ground of instability in world currency markets since last week, following the vote in Britain to leave EEC.
The local currency ended May with the selling rate ending at $125.41 to the US dollar and ended June, taking almost J$1 more to buy the US dollar. By Monday June 13, the rate moved to $125.99 and on Friday the 17th to $126.07, before easing slowly, in the last week of the month.
On Thursday, the Jamaican dollar lost ground slightly against the US dollar but suffered greater losses against the Canadian dollar and the severely battered Pound.
The foreign exchange market closed with dealers buying the equivalent of US$1 million more than the amount sold in all currencies, bringing the surplus purchased in the last four days to $13 million, with the amount bought by dealers being US$37,497,494 while they sold US$36,347,234, compared to US$53,634,075 purchased and US$55,336,297 sold on Wednesday.
In US dollar trading, dealers bought US$34,965,091 compared to US$50,461,084 on Wednesday as the buying rate for the US dollar fell 26 cents to $125.78. A total of US$35,041,039 was sold versus US$53,396,084 on Wednesday with the selling rate rising 1 cent to $126.38. The Canadian dollar buying rate rose by 58 cents to end at $93.71 with dealers buying C$755,321 and selling C$419,675, at an average rate that climbed $1.20 to $97.88. The average rate for buying the British Pound climbed 41 cents to $166.26 for the purchase of £1,427,616, while £571,210 was sold, with the rate gaining 26 cents to $169.85.
At the end of trading, the selling rate for Euro, rose 65 cents to close at J$140.31 from Wednesday’s rate, according to data from Bank of Jamaica, while dealers purchased the European common currency at J$137.84, for a gain of 70 cents from Wednesday’s rate. The US dollar equivalent of other currencies traded amounts to US$82,580 being bought, while US$213,501 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 $2.56 in the highest buying rate of the Canadian Dollar to $96, a rise of 83 cents in the lowest buying rate to close at $77.19. The British Pound had a mixed day of trading, with the highest buying rate jumping $11 to $182.50, but the lowest buying rate remained unchanged at $120, the highest selling rate rose by $3 to close at $187 and the lowest selling rate dropped by $6 to end at $153. The highest and lowest rates for the Pound are close to the rates that the currencies traded at before the sharp fall last week.
Huge increase in Government revenues
Government revenues jumped by nearly 6 percent over budget for the first two months of the fiscal year to May, while payments dropped sharply resulting in the fiscal deficit of just $4 billion for the two months, down by $11 billion projected.
Revenue in take for the two month period is just over $9.2 billion or 15 percent ahead of the similar period for 2015.
Tax revenues jumped 6 percent or $3.8 billion over forecast, flowing mainly as a result of an increase of, $530 million in withholding tax on interest, local GCT amounting $1.26 billion, stamp duty of nearly $500 million and GCT and special consumption tax on imports of $1.1 billion.
Interestingly, the increase is taking place with little input from the new taxes government implemented in May this year.
On the expenditure side, interest cost fell by $1.5 billion and normal housekeeping expenses is down by $3.4 billion while the wage bill moved up by $966 million. Capital spending was under, by $3.2 billion, with only $1.6 billion spent by May. Information, gleaned indicates that much of the under spending is due to a slow start to the fiscal year, with June spending expected to catch up.
The increase in revenues is in keeping with a trend seen in the first 9 months of 2015, when revenues were growing well ahead of forecast. Total revenues are up 21 percent or $5.9 billion ahead of the amount generated in April 2015 and 10 percent or $3.37 billion more in May this year, than for May 2015.
It early days yet, but if the trend on the revenue collection continues close to what is now being experienced, it would make it much easier for the government to meet some of the commitments they have, for 2017 onward.
Jamaican$ gains 10% vs Pound
The Jamaica dollar gained just under 10 percent in value against the severely battered Pound sterling, at the close of forex trading on Tuesday, from the closing level last Thursday, when it was sold for J$184.68, compared to J$167.22 on Tuesday. The local dollar lost ground against the US dollar but made some gains versus the Canadian dollar.
The foreign exchange market closed with dealers buying the equivalent of US$3 million more than the amount sold in all currencies, bringing the surplus purchased in two days to $13.5 million, with the total bought by dealers amounting to US$56,629,059 while they sold US$53,695,732, in contrast to US$53,067,021 purchased and US$42,684,340 sold on Monday.
In US dollar trading, dealers bought US$53,017,555 compared to US$49,249,650 on Monday as the buying rate for the US dollar rose 23 cents to $125.99. A total of US$52,006,860 was sold versus US$40,553,474 on Monday with the selling rate rising 1 cent to $126.38. The Canadian dollar buying rate climbed by 98 cents to end at $93.76 with dealers buying C$970,519 and selling C$463,363, at an average rate that fell 55 cents to $96.23. The average rate for buying the British Pound dived $2.06 to $166.81 for the purchase of £1,991,457, while £575,709 was sold, with the rate dropping $4.07 to $167.22.
At the end of trading, the selling rate for Euro, dropped $1.74 cents to close at J$138.70 from Monday’s rate, according to data from Bank of Jamaica, while dealers purchased the European common currency at J$135.97, for a decline by $1.53 from Monday’s rate. The US dollar equivalent of other currencies traded amounts to US$252,500 being bought, while US$574,305 was sold.
Highs & Lows| Notable changes to the highest and lowest traded rates for the Jamaican dollar in the foreign exchange market on Tuesday, a decline of $1.24 in the lowest buying rate of the Canadian Dollar to $75.78, a fall of $2.46 in the highest selling rate to end at $99.60 and a fall of $1 in the lowest selling rate to $90. The highest buying rate for the British Pound dived $5.70 to $180, the lowest buying rate dropped $5.64 to $131.31 and the lowest selling rate dropped by $2.80 to end at $155.20.
7% gain for Jamaican dollar in days
The British pound lost more than 7% vs the Jamaican dollar since Friday last.
The foreign exchange market closed with dealers buying the equivalent of US$10.4 million more than the amount sold in all currencies, with the total bought by dealers amounting to US$53,067,021 while they sold US$42,684,340, in contrast to US$33,009,765 purchased and US$37,738,632 sold on Friday.
In US dollar trading, dealers bought US$49,249,650 compared to US$29,701,874 on Friday as the
buying rate for the US dollar rose 18 cents to $125.76. A total of US$40,553,474 was sold versus US$36,125,031 on Friday with the selling rate rising 2 cents to $126.37. The Canadian dollar buying rate dropped $1.46 to end at $92.78 with dealers buying C$1,050,754 and selling C$756,067, at an average rate that fell $2.41 to $96.78. The average rate for buying the British Pound dived $5.95 to $168.87 for the purchase of £1,951,573, while £724,364 was sold, with the rate dropping $5.48 to $171.29.At the end of trading, the selling rate for Euro, dropped $2.84 cents to close at J$140.45 from Friday’s rate, according to data from Bank of Jamaica, while dealers purchased the European common currency at J$137.50, for a decline by $2.80 from Friday’s rate. The US dollar equivalent of other currencies traded amounts to US$421,722 being bought, while US$569,954 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 sharp drop of $18.26 in the lowest selling rate of the US dollar to close at $102.74, a decline of $1.70 in the highest buying rate of the Canadian Dollar to $97.70, a fall of $1.42 in the lowest buying rate to end at $77.02 and a surge of $3.80 in the lowest selling rate to $91. The lowest buying rate for the British Pound dived $11.67 to $136.95, the highest selling rate dropped $3.65 to $189.71 and the lowest selling rate dropped by $6.80 to end at $158.
Jamaican$ make big gains on Pound – Friday
The British pound lost more than 4% vs the Jamaican dollar.
The foreign exchange market closed with dealers selling the equivalent of US$4.7 million more than the amount purchased in all currencies, with the total bought by dealers amounting to US$33,009,765 while they sold US$37,738,632, in contrast to US$31,582,310 purchased and US$30,242,351 sold on Thursday.
In US dollar trading, dealers bought US$29,701,874 compared to US$27,930,127 on Thursday as the buying rate for the US dollar rose 10 cents to $125.58.
A total of US$36,125,031 was sold versus US$27,904,144 on Thursday with the selling rate rising 12 cents to $126.35. The Canadian dollar buying rate dropped $1.32 to end at $94.24 with dealers buying C$751,803 and selling C$1,100,169, at an average rate that remained unchanged at $99.19. The average rate for buying the British Pound dived $8.52 to $174.82 for the purchase of £1,889,229, while £368,111 was sold, with the rate dropping $7.91 to $176.77.At the end of trading, the selling rate for Euro, gained 92 cents to close at J$143.28 from Thursday’s rate, according to data from Bank of Jamaica, while dealers purchased the European common currency at J$140.29, for a rise of 71 cents from Thursday’s rate.
The US dollar equivalent of other currencies traded amounts to US$113,850 being bought, while US$234,959 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 sharp jump of $17.36 in the lowest selling rate of the US dollar to close at $121, a decline of $5.80 in the lowest selling rate of the Canadian Dollar to $87.20, a fall of $2.50 in the highest buying rate of the British Pound to $184.80 and a decline of $10.50 in the lowest selling rate to end at $164.80.
Prices up during May in Jamaica
Prices mostly rose in May resulting in Jamaica experiencing an inflation rate of 0.2 percent for the month over April this year with the calendar year to date figure still showing no signs of higher prices overall, with negative inflation of 1.4 percent, data from the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) reveal.
According to STATIN, the main contributors to overall upward movement in May, were Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages up by 0.1 percent, Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels up by 0.6 percent and the Transport division advancing by 0.8 percent. The point-to-point movement, that is, inflation for the past year, is 2.1 percent.
“Mainly impacting the index for the division Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages are increases of 0.1 percent and 0.3 percent in the index for the groups, Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages respectively.
Petrol added to inflation in May
Other areas of price increase are, Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco 0.1 percent, Clothing and Footwear 0.3 percent, Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance 0.3 percent, Health, 0.1 percent, Recreation and Culture 0.1 percent and Miscellaneous Goods and Services 0.2 percent. There were no increases for Education, Communication, Restaurants and Accommodation Services.
Heavy trading in 4 stocks – Friday
Scotia Group was one of the leading trades on Friday with more than 570,000 shares.
Stocks traded amount to 9,658,526 units valued at $241,159,958, in all market segments with the junior market accounting for 721,925 shares, valued at $3,110,379 of all trades.
The market closed with prices of 12 stocks in the overall market rising, 13 declining, including 6 stocks rising and 5 declining, from the junior market. At the close 2 stocks ended at a new 52 weeks’ highs and 1 at a low.The JSE Market Index gained 92.63 points to end at 159,639.97. The all Jamaica Composite Index rose 103.60 points to close at 177,471.18 and the JSE combined index climbed 184.76 points, to end at 171,119.66.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading showed 11 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 6 with lower offers.
At the end of market activities, Cable & Wireless closed at $1.26 after trading 269,176 units, Carreras fell 5 cents in trading 3,520 shares and closed at $62.80, Ciboney traded 65,000 units at 15 cents, Grace Kennedy closed with 157,510 shares trading at $125,
Jamaica Broilers traded 76,896 units changing hands with a fall of 15 cents to close at $14.50. Jamaica Producers traded 61,482 shares and gained 50 cents to end at $48, JMMB Group gained 18 cents in trading 10,810 units to close at $10, Sagicor Group ended with 36,368 shares changing hands after rising 10 cents to $22.90, Sagicor Real Estate Fund traded 14,900 shares but gained 55 cents to close at $10.10. Scotia Investments traded 18,878 shares, but fell $1.15 to close at $25, Seprod traded 112,200 shares with a decline of 50 cents at $16.50, Supreme Ventures gained just 1 cent in trading 34,150 units at $4.76 and Proven Investment preference share traded 20,000 units and fell 20 cents to a 52 weeks’ low of $4.80.