The Main Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange jumped on Friday, with West Indian Petroleum contributing most to the gain, following a $1.83 jump in the stock price. NCB Financial rallied by $2.25 and Carreras rose by 9 cents, with the three stocks contributing most to the market rally. The market closed with a mild drop in the number of stocks traded, with greater value than on Thursday, as a trade by NCB Financial resulted in an exchange of $125 million.
The market closed with price movements closely matched, between winners and losers, with prices of 42 shares rising, 41 declining and 26 remaining firm.
At the close of the market, the JSE Combined Market Index rallied 3,608.43 points to end at 344,777.81, while the All Jamaican Composite Index jumped 6,042.93 points to end at 390,428.71, the JSE Main Index climbed 4,083.28 points to close trading at 335,680.23, the Junior Market Index slipped 42.12 points to 3,317.15 and the JSE USD Market Index popped 0.68 points to end at 240.27.
At the close of trading, 31,467,132 shares were exchanged in all markets, down moderately from 31,861,998 units on Thursday, with the value of stocks traded on the Junior and Main markets climbing to $248.68 million, from $116.61 million on the previous day. The JSE USD market closed with an exchange of 725,892 shares for US$82,111 compared to 1,237,094 units at US$56,684 on Thursday.
In Main Market activity, Transjamaican Highway led trading with 14.37 million shares, followed by NCB Financial with 2.97 million stocks and Wigton Energy with 2.74 million units.
In Junior Market trading, EduFocal led with 1.41 million shares, followed by Kintyre Holdings with 1.39 million stocks and RA Williams with 1.20 million units.
In the preference segment, Productive Business Solutions 10.5% dropped $13 to close at $1,120, while, Sygnus Credit Investments C10.5% advanced by $1.25 in closing at $100.
The market’s PE ratio, the most popular measure used to value stocks, ended at 14.5, computed on projected 2026-27 earnings and 15.6 times 2025 historical earnings, excluding any major one time income or expense. The ICInsider.com PE ratio chart and the more detailed daily charts provide investors with regularly updated information to help in decision-making. The PE ratio chart covers all ordinary shares listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, grouped by industry, and allows for easy comparisons within a sector and the overall market.
Pertinent information is required to navigate the numerous investment options successfully in the stock market. The chart should be used to help make rational decisions when investing in stocks close to the sector average, not going too far from it unless there are compelling reasons to do so. This approach helps remove emotions from investment decisions and places them on fundamentals, while not staying too far from the majority of investors. Investors who buy when the stock price is close to the average are not inclined to overpay.
The net asset value of each company is incorporated into the chart. Investors can use this measure in assessing stock values. The chart also shows daily changes in stock prices and the percentage year to date price movement based on the last traded price. Dividends that are paid or are due to be paid 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.