Trading ended, with 112 percent more shares on Thursday than Wednesday, in the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange and resulted in the market rising after more stocks rose than declined.
Junior Market trades
Trading concluded with 31 securities changing hands compared to 30 on Wednesday and ended with the prices of 18 stocks rising, the prices of 11 stocks declining and two closing with prices unchanged.
At the close, the Junior Market Index edged higher by 10.46 points to settle at 2,496.52. The average PE Ratio of the market ended at 10.7 based on IC Insider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
The market closed with an exchange of 3,485,582 shares for $7,773,090 compared to 1,646,343 units at $5,834,341 on Wednesday. Mailpac Group led trading with 75 percent of total volume and accounting for 2.61 million shares, followed by Everything Fresh with 6.3 percent or 220,271 units and Lasco Distributors with 161,025 units for 4.6 percent.
Trading ended with an average of 112,438 units at $250,745 in contrast to 54,878 at $194,478 on Wednesday. For the month to date, the average trade resulted in an exchange of 76,698 units at $223,185, in comparison to 71,685 units at $219,317 on Wednesday. Trading in August resulted in an average of 104,426 units at $321,996.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows two stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and three with lower offers.
At the close of the market, Access Financial jumped $4.50 to finish at $26 with investors trading 8,406 shares, AMG Packaging fell 13 cents to $1.98 with 501 units changing hands, Blue Power ended 1 cent higher at $3.42 with a mere four shares passing through the market. Caribbean Flavours advanced 17 cents to $18.47 in an exchange of 25,819 units, Caribbean Producers rose 4 cents to close at $2.36 with 2,254 shares traded, Consolidated Bakeries gained 5 cents to settle at $1.50 with investors switching ownership of 300 stock units. Derrimon Trading added 1 cent to finish at $2.51 with an exchange of 400 shares, Elite Diagnostic lost 14 cents to end at $3.06 with 2,046 units passing through the market, Everything Fresh gained 3 cents and traded 220,271 shares to close at 71 cents. Express Catering declined 40 cents to settle at $3.95, with 40,000 stocks changing hands, Fontana rose 1 cent to finish at $4.77 with investors transferring 7,385 shares, Fosrich increased 5 cents to settle at $3.65 in an exchange of 1,061 stock units. General Accident shed 37 cents and traded 33,582 stock units to end at $6, GWest Corporation lost 3 cents to close at 96 cents with 100 shares changing hands, Honey Bun advanced 29 cents to finish at $5 with investors switching ownership of 5,359 stock units. Indies Pharma climbed 27 cents to settle at $2.78 with 128,963 stock units passing through the market, Jamaican Teas fell 5 cents to close at $4.55 with 1,423 stocks traded, Jetcon Corporation finished 1 cent lower at 92 cents in an exchange of 5,600 shares. 
Lasco Distributors rose 2 cents to end at $3.03 with 161,025 stock units changing hands, Lasco Financial rose 4 cents and traded 24,216 stock units to close at $2.12, Lasco Manufacturing gained 4 cents to end at $3.79 with investors switching ownership of 2,263 stocks. Limners and Bards fell 3 cents to settle at $2.82 with an exchange of 76,057 shares, Lumber Depot rose 4 cents to close at $1.04 with 76,089 stock units passing through the market, Mailpac Group traded 2,614,710 stock units and declined 9 cents to end at $2.Medical Disposables climbed 12 cents to settle at $4.62 with 500 units changing hands, Paramount Trading gained 6 cents to close at $1.60 in an exchange of 20,000 stock units, SSL Venture declined by 4 cents to close at 71 cents with 22,156 stocks traded. Stationery and Office Supplies slipped 1 cent to $5.59, with investors switching ownership of 2,240 shares and tTech gained 99 cents to end at $5, with 1,080 stock units crossing the exchange.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Trading ended with 30 securities changing hands compared to 36 on Tuesday and closed with the prices of 13 stocks rising, 10 declining and seven remaining unchanged. At the close, the Junior Market Index dropped 17.95 points to settle at 2,486.06. The average PE Ratio of the market ended at 10.6 based on IC Insider.com forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
At the close of the market, AMG Packaging gained 11 cents to end at $2.11 in trading 15,758 shares, Blue Power rose 12 cents in closing at $3.41, with 2,000 units changing hands, Cargo Handlers picked up 2 cents to finish at $7.30 in trading 468 stock units. Caribbean Assurance Brokers ended at $1.91 after gaining 1 cent with an exchange of 39,656 shares, Caribbean Cream rose 34 cents to settle at $4.40, after 21,897 stock units passed through the market, Caribbean Flavours lost 19 cents ending at $18.30, with 50,609 shares changing hands. Caribbean Producers lost 4 cents trading 21,578 stock units to settle at $2.32, Dolphin Cove shed 50 cents to finish at $6, with an exchange of 7,924 stock units, Elite Diagnostic gained 15 cents in transferring 6,000 stock units and closed at $3.20. Everything Fresh ended at 68 cents, with gains of 3 cents after exchanging 6,300 units, Express Catering rose 40 cents to $4.35 in trading 468,000 shares, Fontana picked up 1 cent to close at $4.76, with 66,012 units crossing the exchange. 
General Accident lost 5 cents to end at $6.37, in trading 6,482 stock units, Honey Bun lost 25 cents to close at $4.71 after 1,728 units crossed the market, Indies Pharma shed 27 cents in closing at $2.51, with 186,538 shares crossing the exchange. Lasco Financial lost 7 cents to end at $2.08 after exchanging 35,513 shares, Lasco Manufacturing shed 4 cents to close at $3.75, after trading 22,855 shares, Limners and Bards gained 9 cents to end at $2.85, exchanging 9,935 stock units. MailPac Group gained 4 cents to end at $2.09, with 198,740 shares changing hands, Main Event rose 5 cents to end at $3.45, in an exchange of 1,098 units, Medical Disposables shed 30 cents to finish at $4.50 trading 64,000 stock units. Paramount Trading gained 2 cents to end at $1.54, with 1,700 units changing hands and tTech fell 76 cents to $4.01, with 123 shares clearing the market.
Trading ended with 32 securities changing hands compared to 28 on Friday and ended with the prices of 14 stocks rising, the prices of 12 stocks falling and six remaining unchanged.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows four stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and five with lower offers.
Honey Bun closed at $4.70 after losing 40 cents in transferring 7,000 stock units, iCreate gained 6 cents clearing the market with 16,200 shares to end at 74 cents, Indies Pharma closed 16 cents higher at $2.79 after trading 3,600 units. Jetcon Corporation gained 1 cent to end at 84 cents, with 43,851 shares passing through the market, Knutsford Express shed 10 cents in ending at $6.80 and trading 2,750 units, Lasco Distributors lost 12 cents to settle at $3, with an exchange of 235,733 shares. Lasco Financial gained 9 cents to end at $2.15, after transferring 9,825 stock units, Limners and Bards gained 14 cents and ended at $2.75, in trading 15,608 units, MailPac Group shed 10 cents to close at $2.04, with an exchange of 118,642 shares. Medical Disposables lost 19 ents, with 16,028 stock units changing hands to end at $4.80 and Stationery and Office Supplies lost 1 cent to close at $5.60, with investors swapping 47,847 stock units.
Trading ended with 28 securities changing hands compared to 31 on Thursday and ended with the prices of 12 stocks rising, the prices of eight declining and eight, with remaining unchanged.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows three stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and three with lower offers.
GWest Corporation fell 19 cents to close at a 52 weeks’ low of 56 cents with an exchange of 112,000 stock units, Indies Pharma dropped 21 cents to end at $2.63 with investors switching the ownership of 95,088 stocks. Jetcon Corporation rose 3 cents to finish at 83 cents with 31,162 units changing hands, Lasco Distributors closed 2 cents higher at $3.12 with 11,000 stock units traded, Lasco Financial dropped 9 cents to end at $2.06 with investors transferring 140,446 stocks. Lasco Manufacturing climbed 18 cents to finish at $3.79 in an exchange of 2,176 shares, Mailpac Group gained 14 cents to settle at $2.14, trading 865,762 units, Medical Disposables added 10 cents in closing at $4.99 with 12,387 stocks changing hands. SSL Venture declined by 11 cents to finish at 75 cents with 8,084 units trading and Stationery and Office Supplies lost 4 cents to end at $5.61 after with 9,986 stock units crossing the exchange.
Trading ended with 31 securities changing hands compared to 35 on Wednesday and ended with the prices of 15 stocks rising, the prices of 10 declining and six, with remaining unchanged.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows five stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and seven with lower offers.
Indies Pharma gained 19 cents and ended at $2.84, with and 14,008 stock units clearing the market, ISP Finance climbed $2 in closing at $15 in transferring 1,000 units, Jamaican Teas rose 63 cents to close at $4.69, after an exchange of 3,000 units. Jetcon Corporation slipped 4 cents to 80 cents trading 9,510 stock units, Knutsford Express finished 10 cents higher at $6.90, with a transfer of 3,649 shares, Lasco Distributors carved out a gain of 10 cents to close at $3.10, with 51,906 shares crossing the market. Lasco Financial gained 2 cents to settle at $2.15, in trading 51,250 shares, Lasco Manufacturing lost 18 cents to end $3.61 after exchanging 6,000 units, Limners and Bards shed 12 cents in closing at $2.61, while trading 374,097 shares. Lumber Depot gained 6 cents to end at $1.05, with a transfer of 4,511 units, MailPac Group closed at $2, with a gain of 1 cent in trading 3,522,281 shares, Main Event rose 30 cents to end at $3.70, in exchanging 100 units and tTech shed 60 cents to settle at $5.50 with investors swapping 40,849 shares.
At the close of the market, Access Financial gained 9 cents to end at $20.90, with 500 shares crossing the market, AMG Packaging lost 15 cents to close at $1.56 trading 3,100 stock units, Cargo Handlers shed 55 cents to settle at $6 while exchanging 7,493 units. Caribbean Cream lost 30 cents in ending at $4.20 with investors switching ownership of 26,646 shares, Caribbean Flavours climbed 74 cents to $18.33, in exchanging 14,174 stocks, Caribbean Producers lost 9 cents in closing at $2.31 and transferring 183,684 shares. Derrimon Trading gained 20 cents to end at $2.50, after exchanging 9,200 units, Elite Diagnostic rose 44 cents to $3.45 and clearing the market with 389 shares, Everything Fresh picked up 3 cents to end at 70 cents after exchanging 100 units. Express Catering shed 59 cents to settle at $3.35 trading 50,224 shares, Fontana lost 4 cents to finish at $4.75, with 137,591 shares passing through the market, Fosrich lost 20 cents and closed at $3.80 with 16,501 stock units crossing the market. General Accident closed 41 cents higher at $6.48, in exchanging 26,026 stock units, Honey Bun ended at $4.80, with a loss of 30 cents and 22,155 stock units crossing the market, iCreate slipped 2 cents to 68 cents trading 13,646 stock units. 
Indies Pharma shed 14 cents to end at $2.65 trading 14,764 shares, Iron Rock Insurance lost 25 cents to close at $2.90 with investors switching ownership of 6,225 units, ISP Finance rose $1 to settle at $13, with 902 units passing through the market. Jamaican Teas dropped 54 cents to $4.06, after clearing the market with 42,687 shares, Jetcon Corporation gained 4 cents to finish at 84 cents, in transferring 605,400 stocks, KLE Group gained 6 cents to end at $1.42, after trading 5,000 units. Knutsford Express lost 10 cents to close at $6.80, with 4,308 units crossing the market, Lasco Financial shed 1 cent to close at $2.13, in trading 67,204 shares, Lasco Manufacturing gained 19 cents and ended at $3.79, with an exchange of 34,639 shares. Limners and Bards carved out a gain of 3 cents after ending at $2.73 and a transfer of 30,260 stock units, MailPac Group lost 1 cent to end at $1.99 with investors swapping 50,600 shares. Medical Disposables rose 22 cents to finish at $4.89 trading 7,305 stocks and Stationery and Office Supplies gained 5 cents to settle at $5.65 with investors swapping 9,846 units.
Trading ended with 29 securities changing hands compared to 33 on Monday and ended with the prices of eight stocks rising, the prices of 12 declining and nine with prices remaining unchanged.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows two stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and three with lower offers.
Express Catering climbed 48 cents to settle at $3.94 with 115,504 stocks changing hands, Fosrich gained 20 cents and traded 100,750 stock units to close at $4, General Accident lost 3 cents to settle at $6.07 with investors transferring ownership of 15,589 stocks. Honey Bun gained 20 cents to finish at $5.10 with an exchange of 42,823 stock units, ISP Finance shed $2.59 to close at $12 with 841 shares traded, Jamaican Teas declined 10 cents to end at $4.60 with 34,457 units changing hands. Lasco Distributors fell 1 cent to $3 with investors switching ownership of 315,000 stocks, Lasco Financial slipped 1 cent to close at $2.14 with an exchange of 20,600 shares, Limners and Bards rose 1 cent to settle at $2.70 with 135,880 stocks changing hands. Lumber Depot lost 1 cent to finish at 99 cents, with 184,359 units traded and tTech advanced by 70 cents to end at $6.10 with 12,467 units crossing the exchange.
At the close of the market, Access Financial advanced $6.02 to $26.10 in an exchange of 10,056 shares, AMG Packaging gained 3 cents to end at $1.73 with 28,100 stock units changing hands, Blue Power closed at $3.20, after losing 5 cents and exchanging 15,500 shares. Caribbean Assurance Brokers lost 1 cent to finish at $2.08, in trading 6,818 units, Caribbean Cream ended at $3.90, with a loss of 7 cents in exchanging 9,780 units. Caribbean Flavours shed 50 cents, in falling to $17.50 with investors swapping 26,783 stock units, Caribbean Producers fell 1 cent to $2.44 and clearing the market with 22,090 stocks, Consolidated Bakeries slipped 1 cent to settle at $1.35 in exchanging 35,000 shares. Elite Diagnostic gained 1 cent to close at $3.01 while exchanging 24,431 units, Express Catering dropped 48 cents to settle at $3.46 in trading 199,371 shares, Fontana declined 20 cents to $4.79 after exchanging 74,757 stock units. General Accident shed 50 cents to close at $6.10 with 210,110 shares crossing the market, iCreate gained 5 cents to close at 70 cents after trading 210,000 shares, Iron Rock Insurance rose 30 cents in closing at $3.15, with investors switching ownership of 2,000 units. Jamaican Teas carved out a gain of 20 cents in ending at $4.70, with 11,034 stock units changing hands, Jetcon Corporation ended 5 cents higher at 80 cents, in transferring 3,500 stock units, Knutsford Express closed at $6.90, with gains of 5 cents trading 19,911 stock units. Lasco Distributors lost 18 cents to end at $3.01 after exchanging 39,926 shares, Lasco Financial gained 6 cents to end at $2.15 in an exchange of 49,500 stock units, Lasco Manufacturing finished 9 cents higher at $3.60, with 8,900 stock units crossing the market.
Limners and Bards carved out a gain of 13 cents to end at $2.69 while exchanging 4,888 stock units, Lumber Depot lost 5 cents in closing at $1 while trading 17,125 stocks, MailPac Group declined 2 cents to $2, after exchanging 1,258,085 shares. Medical Disposables fell 23 cents to $4.67, with a transfer of 7,653 stock units, Paramount Trading shed 18 cents to settle at $1.52, in an exchange of 10,200 stock units, Stationery and Office Supplies dropped 20 cents to settle at $5.60 after trading 46,175 stock units and tTech lost 1 cent to end at $5.40 with investors swapping 3,112 stocks.
During the past week, companies continued the release of midyear results, with little impact on the market. Jamaica Broilers released decent first-quarter results to the end of July, with a slight improvement in after-tax profit, with operating profit rising 25 percent on lower revenues. Wisynco Group full-year audited financials showed modest gains in profit while Blue Power profits jumped 41 percent. Of the three, only Jamaica Broilers is in the TOP 10. At the close of the week, Medical Disposables dropped out of the Junior Market listing and replaced by Jetcon Corporation. NCB Financial returns to TOP 10 and now sits at the bottom of the list, having replaced Eppley.
Caribbean Producers heads the list, followed by Lasco Financial and Elite Diagnostic, the focus on all three is on the 2021 fiscal year results, projected to show recovery from the 2020 financial year final numbers. The top three Main Market stocks, with expected gains of 205 to 264 percent, are Berger Paints followed by Radio Jamaica and JMMB Group, all three suffered declines during the week.
The average projected gain for the Junior Market IC TOP 10 stocks is 291 percent, and 161 percent for the JSE Main Market, based on 2020-21 earnings, an indication of potentially greater gains in the Junior Market than in the Main Market.
Trading ended, with 32 securities changing hands, compared to 34 on Wednesday and ended with the prices of 10 stocks rising, 15 stocks declining and seven ending, with prices remaining unchanged.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows one stock ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and none closing with lower offers.
Jamaican Teas lost 6 cents to settle at $4.84, with an exchange of 188,647 units, KLE Group declined 6 cents to close at $1.36 with 47,759 units traded, Knutsford Express dropped 5 cents to finish at $6.85 with 220 stock units changing hands. Lasco Distributors gained 5 cents to end at $3.20 with investors transferring 9,000 stock units, Lasco Financial rose 7 cents to close at $2.16 after exchanging 14,100 units, Lasco Manufacturing traded 300,713 units and shed 38 cents to finish at $3.60. Limners and Bards ended 9 cents higher at $2.60 with investors switching ownership of 163,400 shares, Lumber Depot fell 5 cents to close at $1 with 380,966 shares changing hands, Medical Disposables lost 5 cents to finish at $4.95 with 3,960 units traded and tTech dropped 8 cents to settle at $5.41 with 8,222 units crossing the exchange.
