The Jamaica Stock Exchange, US dollar market, rose by 3.2 percent with the market index climbing 6.44 points to close at 208.70, with the year to date decline being 7.7 percent. At the close of trading, the PE ratio of the market was an average of 14.5 times 2020 earnings.
Market activity resulted in five securities changing hands, accounting for 651,114 units traded with a value of US$36,182, in contrast to 486,504 units for US$42,388 on Wednesday.
In trading activity, First Rock Capital rose by 0.9 of a cent to end at 9 US cents, after 4,100 stock units crossed the exchange, Proven Investments exchanged 114,693 shares at 26 US cents, Sterling Investments rose half a cent to 2.5 US cents after trading 10,000 units. Sygnus Credit Investments climbed 4.5 cents higher to 16.5 US cents in swapping 1,000 units and Trans Jamaican Highway in accounting for 80 percent of the day’s volume ended with an exchange of 521,321 shares at 1.07 US cents.
Prices of securities trading are those for the day’s last transaction unless otherwise stated.
Market activity resulted in six securities changing hands, accounting for 7,448,842 units having a value of US$122,863, in contrast to 3,646,138 units for US$59,981 on Monday. The PE ratio of the market close with an average of12 times 2020 earnings.
At the close of trading, five securities changed hands, accounting for 2,129,328 units exchange for a value of US$64,366, in contrast to 5,389,685 units for $89,826 on Thursday. The market Index advanced 0.60 points to close at 197.53, with a loss of 12.7 percent for the year to date. The average PE ratio for US dollar-listed stocks is 20.7 times 2019 earnings but with the typical average being just under 14 when excluding the large ones.
Trans Jamaican Highway is once more the most dominant traded stock in the Jamaica Stock Exchange US dollar market on Thursday, accounting for 97 percent of the day’s volume, just a fraction up on Wednesday’s level of 96.6 percent of the total volume traded. 
Trans Jamaica Highway commenced trading in the US dollar market having been listed at the start of trading and dominated market activity 86 percent of the day’s volume.
Amazingly, while the JSE main market has been recording several record highs this year and the Junior market is up more than 10 percent for the year, the US dollar market has gone in the opposite direction. 
$8 million of the 2017 earnings was non-recurring, coming from gain on acquisition of a subsidiary. Importantly, the company suffered from the revaluation of the Jamaican dollar in the last half of the fiscal year, resulting in a loss of $444,000 but resulted in a $3.3 million turn from gains of $2.9 million in 2017. Even without the benefit of foreign exchange gains profit from ongoing operations was up nearly 100 percent from $6.6 million to $12.6 million for the year. The first quarter results that are expected to be released next week should show recovery from the FX losses. “All our segments are doing well and this year should be our best ever” Christopher Williams, President of the Company told IC Insider.com. “We await regulatory approval for the investment brokerage company in the Cayman Island,” Williams stated.
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