Market activity dipped, with 20 percent fewer shares trading than on Tuesday, following the Ash Wednesday break, but the market ended with more stocks rising than declining on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Thursday, but the market Index slipped moderately at the close.
Trading ended with 37 securities changing hands compared to 39 on Tuesday and concluded with the prices of 16 stocks rising, ten declining and 11 remaining unchanged.
At the close, the Junior Market Index lost 10.53 points to finish at 2,877.69.
The PE Ratio averages 15.2 based on ICInsider.com’s 2020-21 earnings forecast. The market closed with 5,225,893 shares traded for $16,022,590 down from 6,496,040 units at $19,574,623 on Tuesday.
Derrimon Trading led trading with 17.1 percent of total volume after exchanging 895,494 shares, followed by Jamaican Teas with 14.5 percent of the day’s trade or 757,249 units and Lumber Depot with 14 percent market share with a transfer of 730,545 units.
Trading averaged 141,240 units at $433,043 down from 166,565 at $501,913 on Tuesday. Trading month to date averages 408,900 shares at $980,150, lower than 431,459 units at $1,026,262 on Tuesday. January closed with an average of 232,651 units at $569,885.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows four stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and two with lower offers.
At the close of trading, Carib Assurance Brokers rose 7 cents to $1.80 with 8,407 shares changing hands, Caribbean Producers fell 8 cents to $2.70 trading 70,633 shares, Dolphin Cove advanced 50 cents to $8 with a transfer of 3,400 stock units, Express Catering increased by 15 cents to $3.65 with 23,747 units changing hands. Fontana rose 5 cents to $6.18 with an exchange of 149,122 stocks, Fosrich climbed 19 cents to $4.30 with 51,671 shares passing through the market, General Accident fell 16 cents to $5.15 with 139,900 stocks traded. Honey Bun advanced 14 cents to $5.15 with a transfer of 114,923 units, Indies Pharma rose 9 cents to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $3.14 with 492,342 shares changing hands, Jamaican Teas declined by 18 cents to $3.50 with an exchange of 757,249 stock units. Jetcon gained 5 cents to end at 74 cents with 37,909 units passing through the market, KLE Group dropped 24 cents to $1.16 with 10,000 shares traded, Lasco Distributors rose 9 cents to $3.60 with a transfer of 150,895 stocks. 
Lasco Manufacturing climbed 28 cents to $4.60 with 23,605 stock units changing hands, Limners and Bards advanced 14 cents to $2.64 with an exchange of 61,986 shares, Mailpac Group rose 14 cents to $3.79 with 481,324 units passing through the market and Stationery and Office Supplies dropped 31 cents to $4.22 with the trading of 60,168 shares.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows four stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and four with lower offers. At the 1 o’clock close, AMG Packaging rose 14 cents to $1.80 trading 2,404 shares, Blue Power dropped 30 cents to $2.85 in an exchange of 1,234 stock units, Cargo Handlers climbed 19 cents to $6.71 with 7,904 stock units trading. Caribbean Assurance Brokers lost 7 cents to finish at $1.73 trading 8,412 stocks, Caribbean Flavours fell 15 cents to $1.95 after a transfer of 72,479 shares, Consolidated Bakeries gained 14 cents to close at $1.45 with 13,770 shares changing hands. Dolphin Cove climbed 45 cents to $7.50 with an exchange of 18 stocks, Elite Diagnostic advanced 25 cents to $3 with 6,160 stock units crossing the exchange, Express Catering dropped 18 cents to $3.50 with 3,136 shares traded. Fontana slipped 7 cents to $6.13 with a transfer of 214,490 shares, Fosrich fell 19 cents to $4.11 with 212,281 stock units changing hands, General Accident lost 12 cents to close at $5.31 with an exchange of 158,474 shares. Indies Pharma rose 8 cents to $3.05 trading 189,042 units, Jamaican Teas climbed 31 cents trading 1,364,296 stock units to close at a record high of $3.68, KLE Group advanced 22 cents to $1.40 with a transfer of 2,750 shares. 
Lasco Financial climbed 9 cents to $2.78 with 565,521 stock units changing hands, Lasco Manufacturing rose 6 cents to $4.32 with an exchange of 222 stock units, Lumber Depot rose 18 cents to $2.68 with 1,068,851 shares passing through the market. Mailpac Group gained 16 cents trading 987,293 shares to settle at $3.65, Main Event lost 9 cents to close at $3.01 with a transfer of 2,029 shares and Stationery and Office Supplies climbed 25 cents $4.53 with 810 stocks crossing the exchange.
Trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange Junior Market on Monday pushed the total volume of shares exchanged up 585 percent with a value 215 percent more than on Friday. Market activity resulted in 74,563,869 units trading for $122,016,255 compared to 10,871,142 units at $38,718,293 on Friday as 38 securities changed hands, up from 36 on Friday with prices of 16 rising, 14 declining and eight closing unchanged. Three stocks traded at 52 weeks’ highs during the day but only two ended at closing highs.
At the one PM close, Blue Power gained 29 cents to close at $3.15 in an exchange of 49,552 shares, CAC 2000 shed 50 cents to $9.50 after exchanging 345 units, Cargo Handlers dropped $1.10 to settle at $6.90, in trading 80,836 stock units. Caribbean Cream lost 34 cents to end at $4.65, after 63,863 shares crossing the exchange, Caribbean Flavours gained 10 cents to end at $2.10, with 165,153 stock units changing hands, Dolphin Cove ended 95 cents lower at $7.05, in an exchange of 1,292 shares. Elite Diagnostic slipped 25 cents to $2.75 with 85,552 stock units changing hands, Express Catering gained 28 cents ending at $3.68, with 13,665 stocks crossing the exchange, Fontana finished 19 cents higher at $6.20 in an exchange of 196,663 stock units. Fosrich gained 10 cents to close at $4.30 with 91,665 stocks crossing the exchange, Honey Bun shed 50 cents to end at $5 in a transfer of 573,813 shares. Jamaican Teas gained 10 cents to a record closing high of $3.37 after hitting an intraday high of $3.54, with 1,348,424 units crossing the market. Lasco Financial gained 9 cents in closing at $2.69, after exchanging 44,500 shares. Lasco Manufacturing fell 72 cents to $4.26 after trading as high as $4.95 with 217,306 stock units changing hands; the stock closed with the bid at $4.89, Limners and Bards lost 7 cents to end at $2.48, with 224,829 stocks crossing the market. 
Lumber Depot rose 40 cents to end at a 52 weeks’ high of $2.50, after the swapping of 2,434,406 units and trading as at a record high of $2.65 before the close. Mailpac Group shed 47 cents to end at $3.49, with an exchange of 5,737,107 shares, as investors reacted negatively to the release of full-year earnings of 18 cents per share, driving the stock to $3.10 during the trading session. Medical Disposables rose 46 cents to $4.46 trading 1,000 stocks, Paramount Trading lost 15 cents and ended at $1.30, in exchanging 60,499,360 shares and tTech lost 59 cents to settle at $4.11, with investors switching ownership of 10,000 units.
Trading ended with 36 securities changing hands, up from 34 on Thursday and closed with the prices of 19 stocks rising, 11 declining and six ending unchanged.
Trading averaged 301,976 units at $1,075,508 in contrast to 182,467 at $484,111 on Thursday. The month to date averaged 299,311 units at $853,420, compared to 299,016 units at $828,895 on Thursday. January closed with an average of 232,651 units at $569,885.
Limners and Bards rose 5 cents to $2.55 in trading 16,660 stock units, Lumber Depot lost 8 cents to close at $2.10, with an exchange of 672,335 shares, Mailpac Group carved out a loss of 4 cents ending at $3.96, with 473,830 shares changing hands, Main Event fell 20 cents to $3.10, with 3,040 stocks crossing the market and tTech rose 61 cents to $4.70 with 200 stocks clearing the market.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows six stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and three with lower offers.
Lasco Manufacturing rose 5 cents to $4.25 with 108,611 stocks changing hands, Lumber Depot gained 18 cents to end at 52 weeks’ high of $2.18 with an ownership switch of 783,265 units, Mailpac Group advanced 10 cents to $4 with an exchange of 271,927 shares. Main Event fell 19 cents to $3.30 with 68,569 stocks crossing the exchange, Medical Disposables shed 39 cents to close at $4 with 18,414 units traded and Stationery and Office Supplies fell 24 cents to $4.29 after trading 2,000 shares.
January closed with an average of 232,651 units at $569,885.
Knutsford Express lost 22 cents to end at $6.20 with 1,203 stocks passing through the market, Lasco Distributors declined by 9 cents to $3.21 with 111,367 stock units exchanged, Mailpac Group traded 1,081,329 shares and dropped 25 cents to $3.90, Paramount Trading advanced 18 cents to $1.45 with 63 stocks changing hands and tTech shed 61 cents to close at $4.09 with 34,055 units crossing the exchange.
Trading ended with 35 securities changing hands, down from 37 on Monday and closed with the prices of 13 stocks rising, 12 declining and 10 remaining unchanged.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows five stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and four with lower offers.
Limners and Bards finished 5 cents lower at $2.50, with 232,334 units changing hands, Mailpac Group gained 19 cents to close at an all-time closing high of $4.15, in the transfer of 695,450 stocks and Medical Disposables picked up 6 cents to end at $4.40, with 5,595 shares changing hands.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows six stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and three with lower offers.
Lasco Distributors finished 25 cents lower at $3.15, after the switching ownership of 24,743 shares, Lumber Depot dropped 2 cents in closing at $1.96 in trading 718,529 stock units. Medical Disposables closed at $4.34, with a loss of 16 cents in exchanging 262 units. Stationery and Office Supplies gained 24 cents to close at $4.53 in transferring 400 stocks and tTech fell 15 cents to $4.70 trading 890 units.
The market index closed just under 2,800 points, on Friday with a 5.8 percent gain for the year to date.
Lasco Distributors earnings were also adjusted down, with the release of the nine months results showing earnings per share of 21 cents and 7 cents for the December quarter, putting the full-year numbers at 30 cents per share.
The current TOP 10 report is based on earnings for 2020/21 as there are substantial gains ahead, for many stocks in the listings.
Main Market TOP 10 stocks trade at a PE of 9.1 or 48 percent of the PE of that market.
Trading averaged 189,064 units at $559,890 in contrast to 686,300 at $1,842,459 on Thursday. Month to date trading averaged 307,465 units at $811,066, compared to 338,928 units at $877,812 on Thursday. January closed with an average of 232,651 units at $569,885.
Knutsford Express closed at $6.75, with gains of 45 cents after trading 3,557 stock units, Lasco Distributors picked up 15 cents to end at $3.40 in exchanging 55,501 shares, Lasco Manufacturing gained 12 cents to finish at $4.32, with 157,640 stocks clearing the market and Medical Disposables rose 30 cents ending at $4.50, with 36,214 shares crossing the market.