Kingsley Cooper Chairman of Pulse that gained 67% during the past week.
Pulse Investments, in the main market TOP 10, up to the week starting June 25, jumped 67 percent this past week, to close at $3. Current listings, Caribbean Cement traded at $45 and Grace Kennedy at $56 both at 52 weeks’ highs during the week.
Former listing, Derrimon Trading ordinary share traded at an all-time high of $20.50 during the week while, the preference share traded at $2.45 for at a new high. The week closed out with 138 Student Living, falling to a 52 weeks’ low of $4.40 but C2W Music climbed to a 52 weeks’ high of $1.30 as the main market moved within just 300 points of the record high reached on June 13, while the Junior Market traded at the highest level during the week, since December last year.
There is just one change to the TOP 10 listings at the end of the week, with Stationery and Office Supplies that just slipped off the Junior Market list at the end of the previous week returning after Caribbean Producers that dethroned it in the previous week was squeezed it out, as Carib Producers rose to $5.50 from $5.10 at the end of the previous week.
With the average PE ratio for Junior Market Top stocks at 6.2 compared to an average PE for the overall market of 11, based on 2018 estimated earnings and the main market PE at 7.9 for the top stocks, compared to a market average of 13, suggest that the rest of the year should deliver better returns than the first half. A look back on the markets shows that they made noticeable rise in August last year, a pattern that goes back several years and could well do so again.
The sharp reduction in Bank of Jamaica policy rate to an unprecedented 2 percent and Treasury bill interest rates to record lows of 2.5 percent, is set to push stocks values much higher unless profits for most of the listed companies decline. The shortage of supply of many listings continues and is set to result in a big rise in prices going forward before supplies will be able to satisfy what is likely to be a rising demand.
Last week prospectuses for Stanley Motta and Mayberry Jamaican Equities were published and this week Indies Pharma is released. The first two are not priced to bounce based on the underlying nature of these companies. Stanley Motta is a real estate play that will provide income that is better than most fixed interest securities with moderate capital appreciation going forward, while Mayberry Jamaican Equities is a closed end mutual fund, growth is going to depend of appreciation in the investments held or to be acquired. Indies Pharma, with IC Insider.com preliminary earnings estimate for 2018 of 16 cents per share, could get a bounce sometime after listing and could reach $2.40. The stock sits in the mid-range of IC Insider.com’s ranking of Junior Market stocks with a PE of 10 just a bit less than the average of 11 for the market but most IPOs have traded around 15 times the current year’s earnings.
IC Insider.com’s TOP 10 stocks now trade at an average discount of 45 percent to the average for the Junior Market Top stocks but it’s a third of what the average PE for the year is likely to be of 20 times earnings and main market stocks traded at a discount of 39 percent to the market.
Stocks to Watch The stocks to watch this week include, NCB Financial. PanJam Investment could move higher again, as there continues to be buying but there is very limited supply of the stock on offer. Radio Jamaica that came for increased buying recently seems to be seeing supplies coming to market at $1.20 or higher and could get more attention with the network broadcasting the popular world cup matches as adverting revenues should climb from the coverage. Others worth watching include Caribbean Cement, Berger Paints with little selling, Grace Kennedy for which there is also limited supply and Pulse Investments. In the Junior market, Demand for Derrimon Trading should continue with a resolution to be voted on at the upcoming AGM to split each share into 10 units. Supplies for Stationery and Office continue to trade around the $8 mark with limited supply, the stock could move higher in coming days or weeks. Jamaican Teas pulled back in the past week from $5.50 to $5 this week, but with limited stocks being offered for sale, is worth watching.
Jamaican stocks have not had a spectacular year with six months having elapsed so far. The main market grew 6 percent and the Junior Market is up just over 11 percent for the year to date. 
The shortage of supply is set to result in a big rise in prices going forward before supplies will be able to satisfy what is likely to be a rising demand.
On Friday, prospectuses for Stanley Motta and Mayberry Jamaican Equity were published. These issues are not priced to bounce based on the underlying nature of these companies. Stanley Motta is a real estate play that will provide income that is better than most fixed interest securities with growth moderate going forward, while Mayberry is a close end mutual fund that growth is going to depend of appreciation in the investments held or to be acquired.
Radio Jamaica that came for increased buying in the past week could get more attention with the network broadcasting the popular world cup matches as adverting revenues should climb as a result from the coverage. Others worth watching include Caribbean Cement, Berger Paints with little selling, Grace Kennedy for which there is also limited supply and Pulse Investments that traded a large volume on Wednesday and Thursday with the price shooting to $2.28 before pulling back on Friday. In the Junior market, demand for Derrimon Trading closed the week at a new high, during the past week and seems poised to move higher. Stationery and Office Supplies settled down during the week is set to rebound soon as selling around the $8 level starts to ease. Jamaican Teas pulled back in the past week to $5.50 but with limited stocks being offered for sale, it is worth watching.
The shares of both, traded higher than the Initial Public Issue price. Sygnus US dollar listing remains above the IPO price while the Jamaican dollar denominated stock is trading below the IPO price.
PanJam Investment could move higher this week as there continue to be very limited supply of the stock on offer. Radio Jamaica could come in for increased attention with the network broadcasting the popular world cup matches as adverting revenues should climb as a result from the coverage. Others worth watching include 
The junior market broke through a declining resistance line during the early part of the week but retreated by week end. Technical indicators are pointing to a strong upward movement, with a golden cross approaching, with the long term moving average line set to cross over the medium and short term lines not too far away.
IC Insider.com’s TOP 10 stocks now trade at an average discount of 44 percent to the average for the Junior Market Top stocks but it’s a third of what the average PE for the year is likely to be of 20 times earnings and main market stocks traded at a discount of 41 percent to the market.
The Jamaica Stock Exchange pulled back at the close of trading on Friday as declining stocks was 60 percent more than as those advancing to end a week that had 2 days of new record close and still ended the week 2,561 points ahead of the close of the previous week. 
Grace Kennedy gained 50 cents and ended trading at $50.50, with 5,120 shares. Jamaica Broilers declined by 90 cents, trading 25,789 stock units to end at $22.10, with, Jamaica Producers gained 10 cents and finished trading at $16.95, with 1,654 units, Jamaica Stock Exchange closed at $7.20, with 2,500 shares after rising 17 cents, JMMB Group ended at $29.45, trading 219,128 shares with a rise of 45 cents. Kingston Properties fell 35 cents concluded trading at 52 weeks’ low of $5, with 6,000 shares, Kingston Wharves fell 35 cents and finished at $45.65, with 26,730 stock units changing hands, Mayberry Investments shed 44 cents and settled at $6.06, with 26,247 units, NCB Financial Group shed 49 cents and ended trading at $99.50, with 766,949 shares. 1834 Investments traded at $1.09 after rising 3 cents with 30,000 shares changing hands, 138 Student Living lost 8 cents and settled at $4.60, with 1,000 units, PanJam Investment closed at $51.45, with 27,225 stock units, Portland JSX lost 87 cents to end at $9.25, with 10,000 units, Radio Jamaica finished at $1.05, with 71,058 shares.
Sagicor Group settled at $38.15 and lost 95 cents after trading 73,246 shares, Sagicor Real Estate Fund eased 1 cent and settled at $13.79, with 14,201 shares. Scotia Group rose 57 cents in closing trading at $50.60, with 46,014 units, Sterling Investments dropped $2.50 and closed at $9.50, with 591 shares, Supreme Ventures lost 30 cents and ended at $14.20, with 72,325 shares. Victoria Mutual Investments concluded trading with a fall of 10 cents at $4, exchanging 568,164 stock units and Wisynco Group rose 4 cents, finishing at $9.84, with 169,237 units. In the main market preference segment, JMMB Group 7.5% lost 4 cents and finished at $1.04, with 1,000 stock units changing hands.
Market activity ended with 4,703,010 shares valued at $61,534,534 changing hands, up from 2,236,723 units valued at a mere $34,192,073 trading on Wednesday.
Trading resulted in an average of 180,885 units valued at an average of $2,366,328 for each security traded. In contrast to 101,669 units for an average of $1,554,185 on Wednesday. For the month to date 203,633 units traded with an average value of $6,596,529 and on the previous day 205,980 units traded with an average value of $7,083,190 on average. May closed with an average of 589,414 shares with a value of $16,532.367, for each security traded.
The Jamaica Stock Exchange closed on Wednesday with modest volumes, but the market indices moved to new record close. 
Carreras concluded trading at $10.30, with 39,046 units, Caribbean Cement jumped $2.50 to finish at $42, with 23,000 shares, Ciboney Group settled at 12 cents, with 50,000 shares. Grace Kennedy rose $1, ending trading at $51, exchanging 26,789 shares, Jamaica Broilers rose 20 cents to $23, with 2,100 stock units, Jamaica Producers finished trading at $16.85, with 14,960 units, Jamaica Stock Exchange closed at $7.30, trading 43,660 shares. JMMB Group ended with a loss of 65 cents at $27.60, trading 358,700 shares, Kingston Properties dropped 65 cents and concluded trading at $5.35, with 2,400 shares, Kingston Wharves fell 50 cents and finished at $46, with 61,766 stock units, Mayberry Investments settled with a gain of 10 cents at $6.50, trading 2,090 units. NCB Financial Group rose 25 cents and ended trading at $98.25, with 20,462 shares, PanJam Investment closed with a fall of 5 cents at $51.45, exchanging just 200 stock units, Radio Jamaica eased just 1 cent and finished at $1.07, with 104,000 shares trading, 
Sagicor Group settled with a loss of 70 cents at $38.50, exchanging 21,654 shares. Sagicor Real Estate Fund added 1 cents and settled at $13.81, with 890 shares, Scotia Group rose 35 cents in trading 59,507 units to close at $51.50, Supreme Ventures ended 30 cents higher at a 52 weeks’ high of $15.30, with 9,314 shares, Victoria Mutual Investments rose 7 cents and concluded trading at $4.07, with 311,254 stock units and Wisynco Group lost 25 cents and finished trading at $9.75 with 1,080,201 units changing hands.
In market activity Barita Investments rose 45 cents and closed at $12, with 3,850 shares, Berger Paints ended at $20, with 1,000 stock units, Caribbean Cement concluded trading with a rise of $1.50 to end at $40.50, while exchanging 40,980 units, Carreras closed at $10.45, with 10,900 shares, Ciboney Group closed at 13 cents, with 141,600 shares, Grace Kennedy settled at $49.50, with 7,132 shares. Jamaica Broilers dropped $4.70 and ended trading at $21.60, with 158,337 shares, Jamaica Producers traded 4,053 stock units at $16.85, Jamaica Stock Exchange rose 20 cents and finished trading at $7.50, with 37,018 units, JMMB Group closed 50 cents higher at $28, with 16,682 shares. Kingston Properties lost 50 cents to end at $6, with 2,100 shares, Kingston Wharves gained 50 cents in concluding trading at $46.50, with 11,018 shares, Mayberry Investments gave up 10 cents and finished at $6.40, with 29,948 stock units, NCB Financial Group rose 50 cents and settled at $97, with 55,490 units. PanJam Investment fell 98 cents and finished trading at $51, with 1,079 shares, Proven Investments closed at $28.50 while 448 units traded, 
Pulse Investments added 19 cents and ended at $1.60, with 1,500 units, Radio Jamaica concluded trading 2 cents higher to $1.10, with 12,917 shares, Sagicor Group lost 55 cents and finished at $39, with 1,023,740 shares, Sagicor Real Estate Fund traded 5,314 units and fell 70 cents to end at $13.80. Salada Foods settled trading with 10,000 shares at $14, Scotia Group jumped $1.49 to end trading at $51.50, with 39,946 stock units changing hands, Seprod traded 8,590 units at $35, Supreme Ventures grew 50 cents and closed at $13.50, with 145,968 shares, Victoria Mutual Investments gained just 1 cent and ended at $4, with 46,455 shares and Wisynco Group concluded trading by adding 10 cents to end at $9.75, with 907,325 stock units being exchanged.
the order book of the stock suggest further decline before it bottoms out. Jamaican Teas price moved to $5.25 during the latter part of the week as demands picks up and supplies appear to have been declining, but by the end of the week it closed at $5.
At the close of Friday, the average PE ratio for Junior Market Top stocks ended at 6,2 compared to an average PE for the overall main market of 11, based on 2018 estimated earnings. The main market PE is 7.6 for the top stocks, compared to a market average of 13.
The stock price pulled back sharply on release of the results. The stock yields a dividend of 4 percent which is higher than treasuries and this could be an attraction for some investors while they await return to profit growth. NCB sits just below the TOP 10 list and has good growth prospects for patient investors. PanJam Investment that IC Insider.com reported on in a separate article last week caught the eyes of some investors who moved the price up to $51.98 and it could go higher this week has there is very limited supply for this one. Investors should also keep an eye out for Sygnus Credit that could have its shares listed by next week.
The Jamaica Stock Exchange closed on Friday with a sharp retreat from record close of the indices on Thursday, even as more stocks rose than fell. 
Berger Paints gained 50 cents and ended at $20, with 8,000 stock units, Carreras fell 10 cents and finished at $10.50, with 1,575,999 shares changing hands, Grace Kennedy fell 50 cents to end at $49.50, with 3,116,194 stock units, Jamaica Broilers jumped $3.10 to a new all-time high of $26.30, with 51,790 units changing hands. Jamaica Producers rose 40 and closed at $16.85, with a mere 125 shares, Jamaica Stock Exchange ended at $7.30, with 123,000 shares, JMMB Group concluded trading after falling $1 to close at $27.50, with 658,507 shares, Kingston Wharves settled at $46, with 2,780 units. Mayberry Investments gained 5 cents and ended trading at $6.50, with 35,000 shares, NCB Financial Group climbed $1.23 to $96.50, with 38,364 shares, PanJam Investment jumped $1.33 and ended at $51.98, with 6,155 units, Radio Jamaica settled at $1.08, with 5,921 shares. Sagicor Group ended trading with a rise of 5 cents to $39.55, while exchanging 109,852 stock units and Sagicor Real Estate Fund finished trading at $14.50, with 65,260 stock units. 
Salada Foods traded 10,000 units at $14, Scotia Group dropped $2.99 to finish trading 305,483 shares at $50.01, after the group posted lower profit in the April quarter. Supreme Ventures added 10 cents and settled at $13, with 800,000 shares. Victoria Mutual Investments ended 9 cents richer at $3.99, trading 102,912 shares, Wisynco Group gave up 15 cents in closing trading at $9.65, with 118,424 shares. In the main market preference segment, JMMB Group 7% rose 10 cents to $2.11, with 25,000 shares, JMMB Group 7.25 % gained 3 cents and ended at $2.11, with 25,000 shares, Productivity Business 9.75% finished trading at $103, with 2,000 shares, changing hands.