Hurricane Beryl curtails JSE trading

Trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange was severely curtailed following the closure on Wednesday of the exchange and the dislocations caused by the passage of hurricane Beryl yesterday resulting in a sharp drop in the volume and value of stocks crossing the exchange on Thursday as the Junior Market JSE USD market closed moderately higher as trading ended with the number of stocks changing hands falling, with the value of stocks traded jumping sharply over the previous trading day, resulting in prices of 25 shares rising and 31 declining.
At the close of trading on Thursday, the JSE Combined Market Index climbed 1,339 points to 333,844.20, the All Jamaican Composite Index rallied 2,786.02 points to finish at 359,695.73, the JSE Main Index rose 1,499.49 points to 320,506.48. The Junior Market Index fell 13.62 points to end at 3,814.89 and the JSE USD Market Index fell 1.61 points to end at 235.48.
At the close of trading, 7,212,044 shares were exchanged in all three markets, down from 24,829,048 units on Tuesday, with the value of stocks traded on the Junior and Main markets amounted to $18.27 million, well below the $68.28 million on the previous trading day and the JSE USD market closed with an exchange of 6,543 shares for US$244 compared to 21,979 units at US$501 on Tuesday.
In Main Market activity, Radio Jamaica led trading with 1.10 million shares followed by Transjamaican Highway with 791,444 units and JMMB 9.5% preference share with 563,793 stocks.
In Junior Market trading, One Great Studio led trading with 817,294 shares followed by Dolla Financial with 815,186 stocks and JFP Ltd with 650,000 units.
In the preference segment, 138 Student Living preference share skidded $1.44 in closing at $197.
The market’s PE ratio, the most popular measure used to value stocks, ended at 20.7 on 2023-24 earnings and 14 times those for 2024-25 at the close of trading. ICInsider.com PE ratio chart and 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 within a sector and the overall market. The EPS & PE ratios are based on 2023 and 2024 actual or projected earnings, excluding major one off items.
Pertinent information is required to navigate numerous investment options successfully in the stock market. The ICInsider.com PE ratio chart and the more detailed daily charts provide investors with regularly updated information to help decision-making.
The chart should be used in making rational decisions when investing in stocks close to the average for the sector, 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 for investors 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 of the highest bid and the lowest offer for each company.