NCB Financial sustained a loss of $22.99 to $145.01 but the impact on the market indices was contained as the JSE official closing price based on a weighted average was $158.68 for a fall of just $2.18 after trading 373,332 shares.
NCB Financial Montego Bay branch
At the close of trading on Thursday, the market indices had moderate falls, with the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index declining 167.68 points to 412,034.87. The JSE Market Index fell 151.78 points to 375,590.05 and the JSE Financial Index gained 0.58 points to 104.88.
Eight stocks closed trading at 52-week lows as investors pushed the majority of stock prices down and resulting in the following closing at the lowest prices in a year. Carreras at $5.99, JMMB Group 7.25% C preference share closed at a low of $1.69, Kingston Wharves at $42, Mayberry Investments at $5.20, Mayberry Jamaican Equities at $5.55, Sagicor Select Financial Fund at 49 cents, Seprod at $30, Sterling Investments at $2.20. Supreme Ventures traded at an intraday at 52-week lows of $11 but bounced by the close in trading higher.
The market closed with 45 securities changing hands in the Main and US dollar markets with prices of 16 stocks advancing, 23 declining and six securities trading firm. The JSE Main Market activity ended with 42 securities accounting for 22,241,264 units at $354,166,844, in contrast to 28,855,556 units valued at $738,643,824 from 41 securities on Wednesday.
Wigton Windfarm led trading with 5.7 million shares for 25.6 percent of total volume followed by Sagicor Select Financial Fund with 2.3 million units for 10.4 percent of the day’s trade and Sagicor Select Manufacturing & Distribution Fund with 2.3 million units for 10.3 percent market share. Barita Investments with 1.79 million shares and Jamaica Broilers, with 1.8 million shares, was the only other stock trading more than one million units.
The Market closed with an average of 529,554 units valued at an average of $8,432,544 for each security traded, in contrast to 703,794 units valued at an average of $18,015,703 on Wednesday. The average volume and value for the month to date amount to 699,037 units valued at $6,282,646 for each security changing hands compared to 711,658 units valued at $6,110,326 for each security traded. Trading February resulted in an average of 624,731 units valued at $3,239,665 for each security.
IC bid-offer Indicator│ At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows nine stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and 6 stocks closing with lower offers. The PE ratio of the market is down to 14.7, with the Main Market at 13.5 times 2019 earnings.
In the Main Market, Berger Paints closed 40 cents lower to $11.20 after trading 2,565 units, Caribbean Cement dropped $4.20 to end at $40, with 14,809 shares crossing the exchange, First Rock lost 50 cents swapping 21,974 units and closed at $9.50. Grace Kennedy slid to $58, with a loss of 99 cents in exchanging 67,814 shares, Jamaica Broilers settled at $24, after losing 99 cents transferring 1,356,488 units, Jamaica Stock Exchange fell by $1.25 to $19.55, with 47,774 stock units changing hands.
JMMB Group closed $1.39 lower to $35.61, in trading 466,367 shares, Kingston Wharves slid $1.60 to $42, in swapping 624,349 units, PanJam Investment climbed $1 to $80 with an exchange of 564,828 shares, Portland JSX advanced by $1.10 to $8.90 after transferring 31,000 units, Sagicor Group climbed $6.10 to settle at $52.10, trading 537,957 stock units. Sagicor Real Estate Fund closed at $7.99, with a gain of $1.49 with 4,798 units crossing the exchange, Salada Foods picked up $ 1 swapping 229 units and closed at $26, Seprod shed 50 cents trading 60,448 to end the day’s trade at $34.50. Sterling Investments closed 40 cents lower to $2.20, with 301,662 shares changing hands, Supreme Ventures rose 60 cents to $14.50, with a transfer of 874,523 shares, Victoria Mutual Investments shed 67 cents and ended at $6.33, trading 237,971 shares and Wisynco Group declined by $2.70 to $14, with 347,564 units crossing the exchange.
Trading in the US dollar market ended with 55,288 units for $26,920. The market gained 1.89 points to close at 209.79. JMMB Group 6% preference share gained of 1 cent, exchanging 15,776 units at US$1.01, Proven Investments traded 39,263 units at 28 US cents and Sygnus Credit Investments gained 1 cent transferring 249 units at 14 US cents.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place.
Trading ended with 37 securities changing hands with the prices of 17 securities advancing, ten declining and 11 stocks holding firm. Market activities ended with three finishing at 52 weeks’ lows with Access Financial trading at a low of $18, Everything Fresh at 65 cents and Indies Pharma at $1.93.
At the close of the market, Access Financial fell $1.20 to $18 after exchanging 9,070 shares, AMG Packaging gained 31 cents in the trading of 45,400 units at $1.90, Blue Power slid 67 cents to $3 with 3,349 shares changing hands. Caribbean Assurance Brokers picked up 6 cents to settle at $2.01, with 203,463 shares traded. Caribbean Producers ended the day with 1,102,052 units changing hands after falling 1 cent to $2.50, Consolidated Bakeries closed with a gain of 1 cent at $1.26 in the swapping of 30,000 shares. Derrimon Trading gained 8 cents in trading 151,900 shares to close at $1.48, Everything Fresh exchanged 140,000 shares at 65 cents after losing 15 cents, Express Catering swapped 111,969 shares at $3.40 with gains of 40 cents, Fontana picked up 20 cents to close at $4 with 346,578 units traded. General Accident exchanged 81,830 shares and rose 79 cents to close at $5.09, GWest Corporation added 20 cents in trading of 1,669 units at 85 cents. Honey Bun ended 5 cents lower at $4.95 with 24,331 stock units changing hands, Indies Pharma fell by 4 cents in trading of 77,709 units at $1.93. ISP Finance shed $1 to end at $14, with an exchange of 200 units, 
Jamaican Teas added 98 cents in trading 60,625 shares at $4.98, Jetcon gained 13 cents in the swapping of 22,669 shares to close at $1.12, Key Insurance closed at $2.08, with gains of 8 cents exchanging 23,520 shares. Lasco Distributors gained 20 cents trading 1,100 stock units to settle at $2.20, Lasco Financial added 10 cents in trading of 60,130 units at $2.40, Lasco Manufacturing ended at $3 after gaining 20 cents with 55,747 stock units changing hands., Limners and Bards traded 31,005 shares after slipping 10 cents to end at $1.85. Lumber Depot closed at $1.21 with gains of 4 cents in swapping 144,020 shares, MailPac rose by 1 cent in trading of 438,215 units at $1.40, Main Event exchanged 32,088 shares to close at $3.80 after losing 20 cents, Medical Disposables added 30 cents in exchange of 2,000 units at $6. Paramount Trading closed 1 cent lower at $1.81 with 32,611 shares changing hands and SSL Venture traded 4,725 shares to end the day 10 cents lower at $1.
The market closed on Thursday with 15 securities trading resulting in the price of one stock rising and nine stocks declining, while five remained unchanged, leading a decline of 12.43 points in the T&T Composite Index to 1,429.46. The All T&T Index fell 21.44 points to end at 1,842.17, while the Cross Listed Index slipped 0.45 points at 137.70. Today’s decline marks the seven consecutive days of falling values for all three market indices and pushed the market into a year to date loss.
National Enterprises shed 15 cents in trading 550 stock units to finish at a 52 weeks’ low of $5.25. Scotiabank dropped $1.75 to $59.50, after transferring 18,368 shares, Trinidad & Tobago NGL lost 50 cents to end at a 52 weeks’ low of $15, with 28,661 shares crossing the market and West Indian Tobacco shed 20 cents exchanging 2,000 stock units to close at $36.75.
The JSE Market Index declined by 11,129.60 points to 375,741.83 and the JSE Financial Index lost 1.10 points to 104.30 and is down 24 percent for the year to date.
Trading in February resulted in an average of 624,731 units valued at $3,239,665 for each security. 
Mayberry Jamaican Equities closed $1.92 lower to end at a 52 weeks’ low of $6.02, in swapping 25,300 shares, MPC Caribbean Clean Energy closed at $147, with a loss of $1 transferring 1,000 units and NCB Financial soared $18 to $168, with 260,174 shares changing hands. 138 Student Living closed $1.49 lower to $4.01 in trading 1,000 units, PanJam Investment ended the day at $79, with gains of $1 after transferring 574,020 shares, Portland JSX ended 46 cents lower to settle at $7.80, in swapping 25,000 units. Proven Investments shed 50 cents to finish at $39.50, after trading 13,736 stock units, Sagicor Group gained 50 cents to end at $46, in transferring 531,967 shares, Scotia Group closed at $46, after losing 82 cents in swapping 354,456 units. Seprod sustained a loss of $5.50 trading 40,228 stock units and closed at $35, Stanley Motta shed 80 cents to end at $4.20, with an exchange of 2,000 units, Sterling Investments lost 30 cents to finish at a 52 weeks’ low of $2.60, with 57,525 shares changing hands. Supreme Ventures closed at a 52 weeks’ low of $13.90, after losing $2.10 transferring 1,506,851 shares, Sygnus Credit Investments closed at $18.25, with gains of $1 swapping 42,680 stock units and Victoria Mutual Investments ended 30 cents lower to settle at $7, in trading 408,034 shares.
Trading resulted in many stocks rebounding at the close of the market activities and leading to the prices of 17 securities rising, 13 declining and the prices of seven stocks closing unchanged.
At the close of the market, Access Financial fell $2.60 to 52 weeks’ low of $19.20 after exchanging 5,000 shares, AMG Packaging shed 31 cents in the trading of 650 units at $1.59, Blue Power slipped 2 cents to $3.67 with 17,751 shares changing hands. CAC 2000 climbed 30 cents to $12.80 with 5,800 stock units traded, Cargo Handlers ended at $5.50 with 3,749 shares crossing the exchange after gaining 40 cents, Caribbean Assurance Brokers picked up 4 cents to settle at $1.95 with 110,320 stock units traded. Caribbean Cream added 1 cent in the exchange of 10,0000 shares to close at $2.81, Caribbean Producers ended the day with 105,100 units traded after falling 21 cents to a 52 weeks’ low of $2.51, Consolidated Bakeries closed with a loss of 20 cents at a 52 weeks’ low of $1.25 in the swapping of 15,224 stock units. Dolphin Cove dropped 80 cents in trading of a mere 40 shares to close at a 52 weeks’ low of $7, Everything Fresh exchanged 11,864 units at 80 cents after losing 5 cents, Fontana picked up 8 cents to close at $3.80 with 1,010,881 stock units traded, but only after it traded at a 52 weeks’ low of $3.50. Fosrich fell 60 cents to settle at a 52 weeks’ low of $2.40 with 30,688 shares swapped, General Accident exchanged 17,504 shares and declined by 20 cents to close at $4.30, GWest Corporation gained 5 cents in trading of 19,578 units at 65 cents. Honey Bun ended 50 cents higher at $5 with 11,138 stock units changing hands, iCreate climbed 2 cents and exchanged 44,589 shares at 47 cents, Indies Pharma fell 12 cents trading of 30,039 units at a 52 weeks’ low of $1.97. 
Jamaican Teas added 5 cents and exchanged 50,095 stock units at $4, Jetcon gained 2 cents in the swapping of 99,650 shares to close at 99 cents, Lasco Distributors fell 28 cents and traded 1,507,553 stock units to settle at a 52 weeks’ low of $2. Lasco Financial climbed 30 cents in trading of 53,016 units at $2.30, Lasco Manufacturing lost 6 cents to settle at $2.80 with an exchange of 77,309 stock units, Limners and Bards traded 50,648 shares after slipping 31 cents to end at $1.95. MailPac gained 4 cents in trading 128,220 units at $1.39, Main Event rose 49 cents and exchanged 59,013 shares to close at $4, Medical Disposables rose 40 in exchanging 10,932 units at $5.70. Paramount Trading closed 2 cents higher at $1.82 with 15,000 stock units changing hands, SSL Venture traded 10,000 shares to end the day 8 cents higher at $1.10 and Stationery and Office Supplies climbed 30 cents to $6 with 31,286 shares crossing the exchange.
The T&T Composite Index declined by 18.88 points to 1,441.89. The All T&T Index fell 19.27 points to end at 1,863.61, while the Cross Listed Index closed with a decline of 2.52 points at 138.15.
NCB Financial lost 35 cents and closed at $10.65, with 91 units crossing the market, Prestige Holdings lost 30 cents exchanging 2,000 units to end at $8.20, Scotiabank dropped $1.20 to $61.25, in exchanging 2,182 stock units. Trinidad & Tobago NGL fell 69 cents trading 37,584 shares and closed at a 52 weeks’ low of $15.50, West Indian Tobacco lost 5 cents exchanging 85 units to end at $36.95 and Unilever Caribbean fell 10 cents to a 52 weeks’ low of $19, with 7,628 units crossing the market.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows thirteen stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and five stocks closing with lower offers. The PE ratio of the market ended at 15.3, while the Main Market ended at 14.3 times the 2019 earnings.
Scotia Group shed $1.18 to settle at $46.82, in swapping 81,985 stock units, Seprod lost 50 cents trading 42,597 units and closed at $40.50, Supreme Ventures ended at $16, with a loss of $1.82 transferring 459,765 shares. Sygnus Credit Investments lost 75 cents to end at $17.25, in swapping 49,449 shares and Wisynco Group declined by 38 cents to $16.62, after 277,802 shares changed hands.
At the close of trading nine stocks ended at 52 weeks’ lows and several stocks suffered steep fall in prices and were led by ISP Finance with a drop of $4.75, followed by Cargo Handlers $1.40, Jamaican Teas $1.05, Fontana $1.02 and Caribbean Producers with a large capitalization shed 78 cents.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows two stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and three with lower offers.
Iron Rock Insurance closed at a 52 weeks’ low of $2 after dropping 30 cents and swapping 83,352 shares, ISP Finance fell to $15 after shedding $4.75 with 6,000 shares crossing the exchange, Jamaican Teas dropped $1.05 after trading 186,502 shares to end at $3.95. Jetcon fell 20 cents exchanging 396,473 shares at a 52 weeks’ low of 97 cents, KLE closed trading of 100,000 units and slipped 12 cents to settle at $1.60, Knutsford Express fell 30 cents to $8 with 2,746 shares traded. Lasco Distributors exchanged 143,713 shares and gained 30 cents to close at $2.20, Lasco Financial dropped 20 cents trading of 1,231,043 units and to settle at $2, Lasco Manufacturing lost 7 cents to settle at $2.86 with 138,909 units changing hands. Limners and Bards ended 26 cents higher at $2.26 with 120,000 shares crossing the market, Lumber Depot fell 10 cents to a 52 weeks’ low of $1.17 with an exchange of 448,162 stock units, MailPac closed trading of 3,497,845 units and lost 3 cents to end at $1.35. Main Event finished at $3.51 after dropping 49 cents, exchanging 120,152 shares, Medical Disposables declined by 40 cents in the swapping of 6,029 to close at $5.30, and Stationery and Office Supplies lost 20 cents to settle at a 52 weeks’ low of $5.70 with 26,454 stock units crossing the exchange.
Four stocks closed at 52 weeks’ low as the market encountered five consecutive days of losses at the close market sentiments and closed with negative with stocks closing with a four to one bias towards declines as shown by the IC bid-offer Indicator. 
JMMB Group shed 8 cents exchanging 170,055 shares to close at $2.02, Massy Holdings declined by $1 to $59 in transferring 15,490 units and National Enterprises traded 27,269 stock units after falling 15 cents to close at a 52 weeks’ low of $5.40. National Flour closed at $1.30 in exchanging 111,161 units and lost 15 cents, One Caribbean Media lost 10 cents to close at a 52 weeks’ low of $7.15, with 200 units crossing the market, Point Lisas shed 30 cents exchanging 200 units to end at $3.45. Prestige Holdings declined by 50 cents to $8.50 trading 3,585 shares, Republic Financial Holdings lost 4 cents and closed at $145.43, transferring 18,703 units and Scotiabank fell 7 cents to $62.45, in exchanging 150 stock units. Trinidad & Tobago NGL shed 31 cents trading 16,736 shares and closed at a 52 weeks’ low of $16.19 and Unilever Caribbean dropped to a 52 weeks’ low of $19.10, after falling $1.40 with 3,300 units crossing the market.
The market closed with 41 securities changing hands in the Main and US dollar markets after six stocks traded at 52 weeks’ lows. At the close prices of 8 stocks rose, 29 declined and 4 traded firm. The JSE Main Market activity ended with 35 securities accounting 19,892,130 units valued at $229,454,953 in contrast to 34,017,777 units valued at $260,298,044 from 43 securities on Friday.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows eleven stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and six stocks closing with lower offers. The PE ratio of the market ended at 15.7, while the Main Market ended at 14.8 times the 2019 earnings.
Pulse Investments gained 45 cents to finish at a record close of $3.35 in trading 424,119 stock units, Sagicor Group tumbled $10 to $43.01, in transferring 59,515 shares, Sagicor Real Estate Fund closed 50 cents lower at a 52 weeks’ low of $6.50, with 2,300 stock units changing hands. Sygnus Credit Investments lost 49 cents to end at $18, in swapping 30,024 shares, Victoria Mutual Investments closed at $7.06, with a loss of 63 cents after trading 171,283 units and Wisynco Group declined to $17, after falling $1 with 4,600,987 shares crossing the exchange.
