After four consecutive days of gains, the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange lost altitude on Tuesday, after more stocks fell than rose as 45 percent fewer shares traded than on Monday.
Trading ended with 34 securities changing hands compared to 33 on Monday and concluded with the prices of nine stocks rising, the prices of 15 declining and 10 with prices remaining unchanged.
At the close, the Junior Market index fell 27.35 points to close at 2,520.13. 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 1,170,245 shares for $5,056,500 compared to 2,115,554 units at $5,271,667 on Monday. Fontana led trading with 44.3 percent of total volume with an exchange of 518,595 shares, followed by Mailpac Group with 11.4 percent of the day’s trade or 133,095 units and Derrimon Trading with 95,492 units for 8.2 percent market share.
Trading ended with an average of 34,419 units at $148,721 in contrast to 64,108 at $159,747 on Monday. For the month to date, the average trade resulted in an exchange of 99,609 units at $223,021, compared to 103,144 units at $227,050 on Monday. Trading in August resulted in an average of 104,414 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 six stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with a lower offer.
At the close of the market, Access Financial lost $2.42 to end at $22 with 807 shares changing hands, AMG Packaging rose 1 cent to finish at $1.80 in an exchange of 5,000 shares, Blue Power dropped 44 cents to settle at $3.16 with 16,500 stock units passing through the market. Caribbean Assurance Brokers gained 16 cents to close at $2.01 with 12,289 stock units traded, Caribbean Flavours fell 2 cents to $18.16 with investors transferring 58,008 shares, Consolidated Bakeries declined 22 cents to settle at $1.12 in an exchange of 7,230 stocks. Derrimon Trading advanced 18 cents to end at $2.93 with 95,492 units passing through the market, Dolphin Cove lost 10 cents to finish at $6.90 with 1,240 shares changing hands, Elite Diagnostic gained 8 cents to close at $3.12 with 2,010 shares traded. Express Catering climbed 55 cents to end at $4.10 with investors switching ownership of 500 shares, Fontana fell 7 cents to settle at $4.73and exchanged 518,595 shares, Fosrich slipped 9 cents to finish at $3.51 with 9,154 stocks passing through the market. General Accident dropped 28 cents to close at $6.30 with 2,200 shares traded, Honey Bun fell 14 cents to end at $4.85 with 12,000 stocks changing hands, Indies Pharma finished 1 cent lower at $2.80 with an exchange of just 5 stock units. 
Jamaican Teas advanced 5 cents to settle at $4.30 with investors transferring 23,549 units, Jetcon Corporation gained 7 cents and traded 9,840 stock units to end at 99 cents, Lasco Financial lost 6 cents to close at $2.08 with 54,000 shares passing through the market. Lumber Depot increased 13 cents to finish at $1.08 with investors switching ownership of 81,959 stocks, Mailpac Group declined 3 cents to settle at $2.05 with an exchange of 133,095 shares, Medical Disposables fell 4 cents to end at $5.02 with 3,476 units changing hands. SSL Venture dropped 20 cents to close at 54 cents with 250 shares passing through the market, Stationery and Office Supplies dived $1.54 to settle at $4.01, trading 36,685 stock units and tTech advanced 28 cents to finish at $6.28 with 9,971 shares crossing the exchange.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
The market closed with sixteen securities trading with the prices of four stocks advancing, six declining and six remaining unchanged. The volume of stocks passing through the market amounted to 339,427 shares valued at $13,649,889 compared to 490,995 shares for $5,458,075 from 17 securities on Monday.
Stocks declining│ Clico Investments finished 35 cents lower at $25.15, with an exchange of 10,472 stock units, JMMB Group lost 1 cent trading 30,309 shares to settle at $1.70, One Caribbean Media slipped 10 cents to $5.10, after transferring 30,189 shares. Prestige Holdings lost 5 cents to end at $7.50, in exchanging 500 units, Republic Financial Holdings closed at $142, with a loss of 2 cents and 2,460 stock units changing hands and Trinidad and Tobago NGL dipped 5 cents to $15.90, in transferring 3,309 stock units.
Trading ended with 33 securities changing hands compared to 31 on Friday and closed with the prices of nine stocks rising, 11 declining and 13 remaining unchanged.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows one stock ending with the bid higher than the last selling price and two with lower offers.
Honey Bun gained 28 cents to close at $4.99, after clearing the market with 3,435 units, Jamaican Teas shed 34 cents in closing at $4.25, with 279,830 shares changing hands the exchange. Jetcon Corporation lost 1 cent in closing at 92 cents, with 1,070 units changing hands, Knutsford Express gained 10 cents to end at $6.90, trading 1,073 units, Lasco Financial gained 1 cent to end at $2.14, with investors swapping 9,812 stock units. Lasco Manufacturing declined 8 cents to $3.42, after exchanging 36,301 shares, Limners and Bards gained 5 cents to settle at $2.70, trading 98,619 shares, Lumber Depot carved out a loss 10 cents in closing at 95 cents, in exchanging 523,710 shares. Mailpac Group gained 3 cents to settle at $2.08, in trading 581,872 shares and Medical Disposables lost 2 cents to finish at $5.06, with an exchange of 173 units.
At the close of trading, the All Jamaican Composite Index dropped 1,325.14 points to 406,913.84, the JSE Main Index fell 1,198.98 points to 371,405.38 and the JSE Financial Index shed 0.73 points to settle at 96.61.
The average trade for the month to date ended at 266,398 units at $3,266,977 for each security, in contrast to 266,157 units at $3,152,375. Trading month to date compares adversely to August’s average of 497,441 units at $3,201,918 for each security.
NCB Financial Group gained 89 cents, in ending at $132.99 with investors swapping 172,508 shares. 138 Student Living rose 35 cents to end at $4.85, after clearing the market with 15,605 stock units, PanJam Investment dropped $3.49 to $66.01, in transferring 150,938 shares, Pulse Investments gained 30 cents to settle at $4.90, in trading 2,510,192 shares. Scotia Group fell to $47.14, after losing $1.36 and exchanging 627,325 shares Seprod fell 50 cents to $55.50, with investors switching ownership of 177,004 shares, Supreme Ventures fell $1.50 to settle at $13, as investors swapped 795,566 shares. Sygnus Credit Investments lost 70 cents to close at $17.80, in trading 28,469 stock units and Wisynco Group shed 58 cents to close at $15.90, with 45,481 stock units passing through the market.
At the close of the market, trading ended with four securities changing hands compared to four on Friday and ended with the prices of no stock rising, one declining and three remaining unchanged.
At the close of the market, Proven Investments remained at 26 US cents after exchanging 650 shares and Sygnus Credit Investments lost half a US cent to close at 13 US cents and cleared the market after trading 150,278 shares.
Stocks declining│ First Citizens shed 10 cents, exchanging 1,860 units to settle at $46.10, Massy Holdings closed 6 cents lower at $58, in transferring 1,000 units, Trinidad and Tobago NGL lost 5 cents to finish at $15.95, with 3,629 stock units changing hands and West Indian Tobacco fell by 95 cents to $35.05, in trading 1,719 units.
The top three stocks in each market saw no change in ranking for the top three Junior Market stocks, with the potential to gain between 295 to 709 percent by March 2021. Caribbean Producers heads the list, followed by Lasco Financial and Elite Diagnostic. The focus on all three is 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 231 percent, are Radio Jamaica, followed by Berger Paints and JMMB Group.
The targeted average PE ratio of the market is 20 based on the profits of companies reporting full year’s results, from now to the second quarter in 2021. Both the Junior Market and the Main Market are currently trading well below this level, indicating the potential gains ahead. The JSE Main Market ended the week, with an overall PE of 14.8 and the Junior Market 11.2, based on IC Insider.com’s projected 2020-21 earnings. The average PE ratio of the Junior Market has been slowly rising, with better profit opportunities than the Main Market and narrowing the gap. The PE ratio for the Junior Market Top 10 stocks average a mere six at just 54 percent to the average of the overall Junior Market. The Main Market TOP 10 stocks trade at a PE of 8.3 or 56 percent of the PE of the overall market.
The average projected gain for the Junior Market IC TOP 10 stocks is 280 percent, and 151 percent for the JSE Main Market, based on 2020-21 earnings, indicates potentially more significant gains in the Junior Market than in the Main Market.
The market closed with an exchange of 24,341,786 shares for $1,198,275,855 compared to 13,141,814 units at $242,747,146 on Thursday. Barita Investments led trading with 61.2 percent of total volume after 14.89 million shares changed hands, followed by Pulse Investments with 11.6 percent or 2.82 million units, Sagicor Select Financial Fund with 10.2 percent for 2.49 million units and Transjamaican Highway closing with 8.4 percent and 2.04 million shares.
JMMB Group closed at $29.50, with gains of 44 cents after exchanging 29,044 shares, Mayberry Investments rose 51 cents to $6, in trading 176,019 shares, NCB Financial Group shed 90 cents to finish at $132.10, with 5,816 stock units crossing the market. 138 Student Living lost 35 cents and end at $4.50, in trading 24,749 shares, Palace Amusement climbed $320 to end at $1,620 after exchanging just two units, PanJam Investment climbed $3.50 to $69.50, after 1,158 units changed hands, Portland JSX lost 50 cents to close at $7.50, in trading 89,998 shares. Proven Investments gained 45 cents to end at $38.45, with investors swapping 1,326 units, Pulse Investments fell to $4.60, after losing 38 cents and transferring 2,821,362 shares, Seprod rose 75 cents to close at $56, with an exchange of 5,490 stock units. Supreme Ventures gained 65 cents to settle at $14.50, with 442,677 shares crossing the exchange and Sygnus Credit Investments climbed $1.15 to settle at $18.50, after exchanging 38,902 stock units.
Trading concluded with 31 securities changing hands compared to 33 on Thursday and ended with 10 stocks rising, the prices of 13 declining and eight 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 five with lower offers.
Honey Bun dropped 28 cents to settle at $4.71 with 38,000 stock units changing hands, Indies Pharma slipped 2 cents to $2.81 with 81,707 shares traded, Jamaican Teas climbed 32 cents to end at $4.59 with investors transferring 46,300 stock units. Knutsford Express fell 10 cents to finish at $6.80 with 1,000 stocks passing through the market, Lasco Distributors gained 10 cents to close at $3.10 trading 63,350 shares, Lasco Manufacturing declined 10 cents to close at $3.50 with investors switching ownership of 56,694 shares. Limners and Bards lost 4 cents to end at $2.65 with 48,164 shares changing hands, Lumber Depot fell 4 cents and traded 342,738 stocks to settle at $1.05, Main Event added 1 cent to finish at $3.38 with 3,560 units passing through the market. Medical Disposables gained 8 cents to end at $5.08 with 9,001 stock units traded and Stationery and Office Supplies fell 5 cents to close at $5.55 with 12,340 stock units crossing the exchange.
At the close of the market, trading ended with four securities changing hands compared to three on Thursday and ended with the prices of two stocks rising and two declining. The JSE USD Equities Index dropped 1.65 points to settle at 186.85, with the average PE Ratio ending at 12.8 based on IC Insider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
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 none with lower offers.
