Strong February start for JSE majors

JSE main market showing strong bullish signal in breaking out of a triangle.

The main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange enjoyed strong gains on Friday, with the market indices rising sharply on surging volume trading on the first day of February.
Main market activity ended with 34,337,150 units valued at $729,254,221, up sharply from 5,924,559 units valued at $242,360,666 on Thursday.
At the close, the All Jamaican Composite Index jumped 3,813.88 points to 414,183.55 and the JSE Index climbed 3,471.13 points to end at 377,368.19.
The main and US markets traded a total of 33 securities, with prices of 15 rising, 9 declining with 9 remaining unchanged, compared to 32 securities trading on Thursday.
Sterling Investments led trading with 14,492,015 units for 42 percent of the day’s volume, followed by Stanley Motta with 9,416,100 units and accounting for 27.4 percent of the total main market volume changing hands. Jamaica Stock Exchange with 2,677,014 units for 8 percent of the day’s volume NCB Financial Group traded 2.1 million shares and Sagicor Group traded just over 1 million units.
IC bid-offer Indicator|The Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator ended with the reading showing 7 stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and 2 closing with lower offers. The reading is far less bullish than the reading at the close of Thursday, of 15 to 2.
An average of 1,107,650 units valued at over $23,524,330, in contrast to 219,428 shares valued at $8,976,321 on Thursday. Trading for January resulted in an average of 101,980 units valued at $3,042,494, for each security traded.
In main market activity, Caribbean Cement added 50 cents to close at $43, with 946,432 shares changing hands, Grace Kennedy traded 287,170 stock units and lost $1.90 to close at $58, Jamaica Producers fell 70 cents to close at $22.30, with 5,838 shares changing hands. Jamaica Stock Exchange closed trading with 2,677,014 units changing hands with a rise of 50 cents to a 52 weeks’ high of $13.50, JMMB Group climbed 99 cents to close at $32.99, trading 27,642 shares, Kingston Wharves settled at $69, with an exchange of 11,574 units. NCB Financial Group lost the $7.90 it gained on Thursday, in trading 2,096,214 shares to end at $145, PanJam Investment jumped $3.85 and ended at $75, with 4,200 units trading, Proven Investments jumped $7 trading just 300 units to close at an all-time high of $35. Productivity Business  preference share gained $3 trading 1,110,200 shares at $108.01, Pulse Investments  regained the 40 cents it gave up on Thursday, to finish at $3.20, with an exchange of just 100 shares, Sagicor Group dropped $1.55 trading 1,047,258 stock units, to close at $39.50. Seprod rose 38 cents to end at $33.50 with an exchange of 102,383 shares, Stanley Motta fell 50 cents in trading 9,416,100 units to close at $4.75 and Wisynco Group lost 50 cents to settle at $10.05, with an exchange of 48,385 shares.
Trading in the US dollar market resulted in 73,267 units valued at $35,223 changing hands. JMMB 6% preference share concluded trading of 23,900 units at $1.04 and Proven Investments traded 49,367 units at 21 US cents The JSE USD Equities Index advanced by 0.11 points to close at 165.63.