Junior Market blast through the 3,900 mark

Investors pushed the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange to close above what has become the challenging 3,900 mark on Tuesday, following trading in 42 securities compared with 43 on Monday and ended with 17 rising, 18 declining and seven closing unchanged, with the volume of stocks traded falling 58 percent and the value 55 percent lower than Monday.
Investors traded 5,882,396 shares for $12,191,518, down from 14,063,733 units at $27,307,285 on Monday.
Trading averaged 140,057 shares at $290,274, compared with 327,064 units at $635,053 on Monday, with trading for the month to date averaging 279,374 units at $626,269 compared with 288,574 stock units at $648,457 on the previous day. September closed with an average of 220,239 units at $459,425.
Dolla Financial led trading with 1.59 million shares for 27.1 percent of total volume, followed by EduFocal with 532,433 units for 9.1 percent of the day’s trade and JFP Ltd with 432,993 units for 7.4 percent market share.
At the close, the Junior Market Index rose 38.66 points to close at 3,921.43.
The Junior Market ended trading with an average PE Ratio of 10.9, based on last traded prices in conjunction with earnings projected by ICInsider.com for the financial years ending between November 2023 and August 2024.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows two stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and three with lower offers.
At the close, Access Financial dipped 50 cents in closing at $24.50 as investors exchanged 791 shares, Blue Power skidded 23 cents to end at $2.70 with shareholders swapping 400 units, Cargo Handlers gained $1.54 and ended at $14.49 with investors dealing in 203 stock units. Dolphin Cove gained 15 cents in closing at $16.15, with eight stocks crossing the market, Everything Fresh advanced 24 cents to $1.64, with 213,077 shares changing hands. Express Catering fell 31 cents and ended at $4.30 after a transfer of 1,700 stocks, Fontana rallied 27 cents to $11.38 and closed with an exchange of 8,483 stock units, Future Energy popped 10 cents to close at $3.70 after the passage through the market of 126,635 units. Honey Bun climbed 12 cents in closing at $6.46 with investors trading 11,214 shares, iCreate rose 8 cents to end at 80 cents, with 20,004 stocks crossing the market, ISP Finance rose $4.71 to close at $31.49 in trading 29 units. Knutsford Express rallied $1.14 and ended at $12.25 after an exchange of 1,193 stock units, Lasco Manufacturing shed 8 cents in closing at $4.92 with investors transferring 1,702 stock units, Limners and Bards increased 46 cents to end at $2.22 with traders dealing in 112,596 shares. Lumber Depot popped 9 cents to $2.60, with 19,929 units crossing the exchange, Mailpac Group declined 9 cents to end at $2.28, with 358,514 stocks clearing the market, MFS Capital Partners gained 9 cents to close at $2.10 in an exchange of 227,983 shares. Paramount Trading dropped 14 cents and ended at $1.56 with stakeholders exchanging 12,000 units, Spur Tree Spices lost 8 cents in closing at $2.06 after 48,634 stock units changed hands and Stationery and Office Supplies advanced 17 cents to $1.79 while exchanging 255,208 stocks.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.