Decline for JSE Main Market, Junior & USD markets steady

The Junior Market and the JSE USD market were relatively stable in trading on Wednesday, with the Main Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange declining meaningfully as trading ended with the number and the value of shares trading rising sharply over that on Tuesday as trading ended with 37 ordinary shares rising and 34 declining.
At the close of trading on Wednesday, the JSE Combined Market Index rallied 503.65 points to end trading at 336,013.76, while the All Jamaican Composite Index declined 3,548.11 points to 357,372.64, the JSE Main Index declined 2,758.68 points to lock up trading at 320,529.65. The Junior Market Index slipped 5.71 points to  3,741.82 points and the JSE USD Market Index rallied 1.02 points to end trading at 240.82.
At the close of trading, 16,686,862 shares were exchanged in all three markets, up from 14,586,125 units on Tuesday, with the value of stocks traded on the Junior and Main markets amounted to $145.58 million, up from $38.46 million on Tuesday and the JSE USD market closed after only 22,109 shares were exchanged for US$25,157 compared to 135,574 units at US$3,223 on Tuesday.
Main Market trading was dominated by Wigton Windfarm led trading with 3.67 million shares followed by Jamaica Broilers with 3.22 million units, JMMB Group 7.5% ended with 2.35 million units and Transjamaican Highway with 1.03 million units.
In the Junior Market, Dolla Financial led trading with 1.31 million shares, followed by One Great Studio with 558,940 units and iCreate with 323,373.
At the close of the market, Main Market stocks rising are AS Bryden that rallied $1 and ended at $40, Caribbean Cement climbing $2.24 to $57, NCB Financial gaining $1.30 in closing at $67.50.
Declining Main Market stocks include Guardian Holdings down $5 to $390, Jamaica Stock Exchange dipping 96 cents to $10.06, Mayberry Group declining 95 cents to $7.50, Mayberry Jamaican Equities shedding 89 cents to close at $9.01, Proven Investments dropping $1.30 and ended at $22.18 as Sagicor Group skidded $1.07 to end at $44.93 and Seprod sank $1.99 and ended at $83.
In the Junior Market, rising stocks include Main Event which rose 67 cents to close at $14.97 and the stock with the largest loss in the Junior Market was AMG Packaging fell 64 cents to $2.36.
In the preference segment, Jamaica Public Service 7% rose $8.17 in closing at $48.17 and Productive Business Solutions 10.5 % preference share rallied $40 to end at $1,100.
The market’s PE ratio, the most popular measure used to determine the value of stocks, ended at 21.6 on 2022-23 earnings and 13.9 times those for 2023-24 at the close of trading. ICInsider.com PE ratio chart and the more detailed daily charts provide investors with regularly updated information to help decision-making.
The PE ratio chart covers all ordinary shares on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, grouped by industry, allowing for easy comparisons between the same sector companies and the overall market. The EPS & PE ratios are based on 2023 and 2024 actual or projected earnings, excluding major one off items.
Investors need pertinent information to navigate numerous investment options successfully in the stock market. The ICInsider.com PE ratio chart and the more detailed daily report charts provide investors with regularly updated information to help decision-making.
Investors should use the chart to help make rational decisions when investing in stocks close to the average for the sector and not going too far from it unless there are compelling reasons to do so. This approach helps to remove emotions from investment decisions and place them on fundamentals while at the same time not being too far from the majority of investors. Investors who buy when the price of a stock is close to the average will find that they are not inclined to overpay for a stock.
The net asset value of each company is reported as a guide to quickly assess the value of stocks based on this measure. The chart also shows daily changes in stock prices and the percentage year to date price movement based on the last traded prices.
Dividends paid or payable and yields for each company are shown in the Main and Junior Markets’ daily report charts, along with the closing volume pertaining to the highest bid and the lowest offer for each company.