Soft start to December for the JSE markets

Trading fell back from Thursday’s surge to start December on a soft note, with the Main index rising but the Junior and JSE USD Markets slipped with lower volumes and value than Thursday to start the final month of the year trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange.
At the close of trading, the JSE Combined Market Index popped 366.08 points to close at 328,951.43, the All Jamaican Composite Index climbed 1,439.55 points to end the final month of the year at 351,375.40, the JSE Main Index rose 521.37 points to close at 315,669.00. The Junior Market Index after it surged 76.62 points on Thursday, dipped 14.05 points to close at 3,757.04 on Friday as trading fell sharply in the market to start the final month of the year of trading negatively and the JSE USD Market Index dipped 1.01 points to wrap-up trading for the week at 226.85.
Investors traded 11,233,174 shares, in all three markets, down from 38,220,893 units on Thursday. The value of stocks traded on the Junior and Main markets was $43.75 million down from $102.4 million on Thursday. The JSE USD market closed after 37,877 shares were traded, for US$2,504 compared to 826,627 units at US$14,407 on Thursday.
In the preference segment, Jamaica Public Service 7% shed $1 to close at $45.
The market’s PE ratio, the most popular measure used to determine the value of stocks, ended at 21.8 on 2022-23 earnings and 14 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 successfully navigate numerous investment options in the local 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.