Trading in the early morning session on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, on Tuesday saw the main market being active with stocks trading for 16 minutes before trading took place in the junior market. Trading resulted in the main market indices dropping and the junior market enjoying a moderate bounce.
Three stocks traded more than 100,000 units with Jamaica Broilers with 428,004 shares, Cable & Wireless Jamaica 118,112 units, Ciboney traded 418,270 units at 13 cents, Margaritaville Turks with 301,350 units, Proven Investments had 299,182 units changing hands but the price slipped to 17.05 US cents.
After 75 minutes of trading, on Tuesday, the average volume traded amounts to 70,975 units per active stock, compared to an average of 22,162 units in the mid-morning session on Monday.
Trading resulted in activity in 25 securities, accounting for 1,774,364 shares changing hands as 9 stocks gained and 6 declined.
The market saw the all Jamaica Composite Index dropped 986.08 points to 167,326.70, the JSE Market Index fell 881.71 points to 150,661.82, the JSE combined index ended with a fall of 676.76 points to 162,020.85 and the junior market index bounced 13.76 points to 2,170.67.
JSE majors down juniors up
More slippage for Jamaican$ – Monday
Trading in the Jamaican foreign exchange market saw dealers purchasing a moderately more US dollars over the amount they sold on Monday for the third consecutive day. The local currency still suffered losses against the US and Canadian dollars at the end of trading.
The market closed with dealers buying the equivalent of US$48,999,565 and selling US$43,396,687, in contrast to US$38,558,450 purchased and US$36,272,279 sold on Friday.
In US dollar trading, dealers bought US$45,983,812 compared to US$35,051,410 on Friday, as the buying rate for the US dollar climbed 6 cents to close at $123.08. 
A total of US$42,353,389 was sold versus US$34,816,524 on Friday with the selling rate rising 9 cents to $123.84. The Canadian dollar buying rate fell $1.57 to end at $91.86 with dealers buying C$1,138,053 and selling C$598,764, at an average rate that rose 25 cents to $95.35. The rate for buying the British Pound declined by $1.95 to $174.03 for the purchase of £1,383,880, while £294,257 was sold, as the rate declined by $2.42 to $174.73.
At the end of trading, the selling rate for Euro, rose 51 cents to close at J$141.36, 
from Friday’s rate, according to data from Bank of Jamaica, while dealers purchased the European common currency at J$138.42 for a gain of 49 cents from Friday’s rate. The US dollar equivalent of other currencies traded amounts to US$209,698 being bought, while US$167,122 was sold.
Highs & Lows| Notable changes to the highest and lowest traded rates for the Jamaican dollar against the main currencies on Monday are, a rise of $1 in the lowest selling rate of the Canadian dollar to end at $90 and a jump of $22.67 in the lowest selling rate for the British Pound to $169.40.
Juniors inch up on Monday
The junior market inched forward at the close on Monday, after trading 1,306,308 shares valued at $6,667,614. The market index added 10.11 points to end at 2,156.91, while a total of 14 securities traded, with 5 advancing and 5 declining.
The junior market closed on a soft note with a total of 5 stocks closing with bids higher than their last selling prices and 5 ended with lower offers.
At the end of trading, Blue Power traded 560 units and gained $1.50 to close at $13.50, Caribbean Cream traded 793,503 units and gained 9 cents to end at $4.80, Consolidated Bakeries ended with 5,000 shares changing hands at $1.23, Dolphin Cove had 40,524 shares trading with a gain of 4 cents to end at $12.55. Honey Bun lost 25 cents to end at $18 with 27,551 shares trading, ISP Finance traded 20,719 shares but fell 10 cents to close at $2.70, Jamaican Teas traded 5,000 shares to end at $3.90. 
Jetcon Corporation closed at $3 while 5,044 units traded, KLE Group fell 60 cents in trading 53,000 shares and closed at $1.60, Lasco Distributors closed with 41,950 units trading, to close with a gain of 5 cents at $7.55, Lasco Financial closed with a rise of 2 cents at $3.49 with 38,362 shares changing hands. Lasco Manufacturing closed at $4.50 with 252,544 shares trading, Paramount Trading ended with 175 shares changing hands at $10.80, after losing 5 cents and tTech fell 20 cents and ended with 22,376 shares changing hands, to close at $4.25.
TTNGL sole stock rising on TTSE – Monday
T&TNGL climbed 49 cents on TTSE on Monday.
Trading ended with 3 stocks trading at 52 weeks’ lows as demand for stocks continue to be low on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange. The market closed with 11 active securities changing hands on Monday.
Trading ended with 2 stocks rising, 3 declining while 6 remained unchanged on Monday as 134,939 shares valued at $3,423,059 changed hands.
The Composite Index declined by 1.68 points to close at 1,118.44, the All T&T Index fell 3.35 points to close at 1,783.89 and the Cross Listed Index remained unchanged at 60.19.
IC bid-offer Indicator| The Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator ended with 6 stocks with the bid higher than the last selling prices and 9 with offers that were lower.
Gains|National Enterprises closed with a gain of 4 cents at $11.24 with 2,000 shares changing hands, Trinidad and Tobago NGL jumped 49 cents in closing at $20.99 with 21,411 shares valued at $449,431 trading.
Losses| First Citizens Bank lost $1.04 to close at a 52 weeks’ low of $32 with 3,300 units changing hands. Massy Holdings traded at a 52 weeks’ low of $49.96, after losing 1 cent, to close with 200 shares changing hands and 
Scotiabank with 22,479 shares changing hands ended with a fall of 3 cents to close at a 52 weeks’ low of $54.93.
Firm Trades| Ansa Merchant Bank traded 724 units at $39.50, Clico Investment Fund traded 48,260 units valued at $1,090,676 to close at $22.60, Guardian Holdings closed at $13 with 23,500 shares trading, Point Lisas Industrial Port Development traded 10,000 at $3.94, Trinidad Cement ended with 2,038 units trading at $3.35 and West Indian Tobacco traded 1,027 shares to close at $126.36.
JSE majors fall in early trading – Monday
Trading in the early morning session on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, on Monday saw the main market indices dropping sharply by just under 1,500 points as per the all Jamaica Composite Index. The junior market enjoyed a moderate bounce.
Three stocks traded more than 100,000 units with Caribbean Cream having 109,103 shares trading up to $4.99 but last traded at $4.80 followed by Jamaica Stock Exchange with 100,100 units at $21 and Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share with 108,800 units at $2.15.
After 75 minutes of trading, on Monday, the average volume traded amounts to 22,162 units per active stock, compared to an average of 92,039 units in the mid-morning session on Friday.
Trading resulted in activity in 29 securities, accounting for 642,698 shares changing hands as 11 stocks gained and 10 declined, representing continued fluidity in price movements.
The market saw the all Jamaica Composite Index dropped 1,489.34 points to 168,937.45, the JSE Market Index fell 1,331.71 points to 152,102.08, the JSE combined index ended with a fall of 1,132.78 points to 163,214.52 and the junior market index bounced 9.99 points to 2,156.79.
More FX bought than sold – Friday
Trading in the Jamaican foreign exchange market saw dealers purchasing a moderately more US dollars over the amount they sold on Friday, while the total amount of currencies bought by dealers was slightly more than the amount sold for the second day. The local currency still suffered losses against the US dollar at the end of trading.
The market closed with dealers buying the equivalent of US$38,558,450 and selling US$36,272,279, in contrast to US$30,846,091 purchased and US$29,596,417 sold on Thursday.
In US dollar trading, dealers bought US$35,051,410 compared to US$28,578,046 on Thursday, as the buying rate for the US dollar climbed 18 cents to close at $123.02.
A total of US$34,816,524 was sold versus US$27,862,374 on Thursday with the selling rate rising 19 cents to $123.75. The Canadian dollar buying rate rose 87 cents to end at $93.43 with dealers buying C$952,889 and selling C$688,384, at an average rate that dropped $1.37 to $95.10. The rate for buying the British Pound rose 83 cents to $175.98 for the purchase of £1,898,256, while £550,350 was sold, as the rate declined by $2.64 to $177.14.
At the end of trading, the selling rate for Euro, declined by $1.10 to close at J$140.85, from Thursday’s rate, according to data from Bank of Jamaica, while dealers purchased the European common currency at J$137.93 for a fall of $1.21 from Thursday’s rate. 
The US dollar equivalent of other currencies traded amounts to US$67,996 being bought, while US$138,942 was sold.
Highs & Lows| Notable changes to the highest and lowest traded rates for the Jamaican dollar against the main currencies on Friday are, a fall of $19.33 in the lowest selling rate of the US dollar to end at $100.37, a fall of $2.17 in the highest selling rate of the Canadian dollar to end at $98.93 and a decline of $2 in the lowest selling rate to $89, a drop of $24.07 in the lowest selling rate for the British Pound to end at $146.73.
1,700 points drop erased- Friday
Pan Jamaican jumped $5.50 to $94 on Friday.
The Jamaica Stock Exchange racked up big index losses in the early morning session on Friday, with all Jamaica Composite Index dropping 1,680.04 points but closed in a positive territory at the end. A total of 35 securities changed hands, accounting for 3,857,762 units valued at $55,590,365, in all market segments.
The junior market accounted for 1,443,534 units of the shares traded, valued at $5,505,458.
At the close of trading, 11 stocks in the overall market gained, 10 declined including 3 of the stocks rising and 4 declining, from the junior market.
The JSE Market Index gained 77.70 points to end at 153,433.79. 
The all Jamaica Composite Index rose 86.90 points to close at 170,426.79 and the JSE combined index climbed 9.38 points, to close at 164,347.30.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading showed 8 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 8 with lower offers.
At the end of market activities, Berger Paints traded 42,400 shares to close at $4, Cable & Wireless closed at $1.39 after rising 3 cents while trading 70,450 units, Caribbean Cement traded 3,459 shares as the price fell 1 cent to close at $26.49, Carreras shed 50 cents while trading 10,995 shares, to close at $63.50. Grace Kennedy ended at $83.50 with 11,270 shares changing hands, Jamaica Broilers had 12,370 units changing hands, to close at $14.55. Jamaica Producers dropped $1 with 10,000 units changing hands at $33.50, JMMB Group lost 50 cents in trading 8,774 shares to close at $10,,
Kingston Wharves traded 500,000 shares and fell $1.50, to close at $11.50, Mayberry Investments traded 31,380 shares and gained of 5 cents, to close at $4.10. National Commercial Bank fell 25 cents while trading 81,123 shares to close at $40 Pan Jamaican Investment jumped $5.50 with 117,925 shares trading at $94, Radio Jamaica traded 16,000 shares and gained 4 cents to end at $1.19, Sagicor Group ended with 28,010 shares changing hands at $23, Sagicor Real Estate Fund traded 139,565 shares to close at $10 after falling 15 cents. Scotia Group climbed by 99 cents to close at $32.99 while 756,529 units changed hands, Scotia Investments ended trading 11,920 shares but fell 80 cents to $25.20, Supreme Ventures closed at $5.35 with 13,812 shares changing hands and JMMB Group 7.5% preference share traded 529,237 units at $1.05 for a rise of 1 cent.
Juniors slipped mildly on Friday
Jetcon traded the most shares on the junior market with 785,615 units at $3 on Friday.
The junior market closed on Friday after undergoing a day of subdued activity with 1,443,534 shares valued at $5,505,458 traded. The market index slipped 6.11 points from Thursday’s close, to end at 2,146.80. A total of 12 securities traded, with 3 advancing and 4 declining.
The junior market closed on a soft note with a total of 3 stocks closing with bids higher than their last selling prices and 7 ended with lower offers.
At the end of trading, Caribbean Cream traded 25,000 units and rose 1 cent to end at $4.71, Consolidated Bakeries ended with 51,500 shares changing hands at $1.23, General Accident ended trading with 1,541 shares, to close at $2.60. Honey Bun gained 5 cents to end at $18.25 with 7,290 shares trading, as investors interest in the stock continues with the proposed stock split is expected to be approved later in May. 
Iron Rock Insurance traded 37,000 shares at $3.40, Jamaican Teas traded 33,174 shares to end at $3.90 with a loss of 1 cent. Jetcon Corporation closed at $3 while 785,615 units traded, KLE Group jumped 37.5 percent in trading 16,550 shares to gain 60 cents and closed at $2.20, Lasco Distributors closed with 185,483 units trading, to close at $7.50, Lasco Financial closed with a loss of 2 cents at $3.47 with 178,184 shares changing hands. Lasco Manufacturing fell 10 cents to close at $4.50 with 121,972 shares trading and tTech ended with 225 shares changing hands, to close at $4.45.
Only 2 stocks fell on TTSE – Friday
T&TNGL climbed 90 cents on TTSE on Friday.
Trading ended with 107,743 shares valued at $1,907,529 changing hands.
The Composite Index advanced by 0.31 points to close at 1,120.12, the All T&T Index rose 1.12 points to close at 1,787.24 and the Cross Listed Index fell by 0.07 points to 60.19.
IC bid-offer Indicator| The Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator ended with 5 stocks with the bid higher than the last selling prices and 9 with offers that were lower.
Gains| Clico Investment Fund gained 5 cents and traded 31,648 units valued at $715,258 to close at $22.60 and Trinidad and Tobago NGL jumped 90 cents in closing at $20.50 with 30,655 shares valued at $616,243 trading.
Losses| Massy Holdings closed at 52 weeks’ low of $49.97 after losing 1 cent, to close with 2,760 shares changing hands and Sagicor Financial Corporation closed with 11,280 shares changing hands, to end with a fall of 1 cent at $7.05.Firm Trades| Ansa Merchant Bank traded 4,000 units at $39.50, Grace Kennedy traded 4,600 shares at $5.15, Guardian Holdings closed at $13 with 9,500 shares trading. JMMB Group closed at 58 cents with just 270 shares changing hands, Point Lisas Industrial Port Development traded 10,000 at $3.94, Trinidad Cement ended with 3,000 units trading at $3.35 and West Indian Tobacco traded 30 shares to close at $126.36.
4 new lows for TTSE – Thursday
NCB is the sole rising stock on the TTSE on Thursday.
Trading ended with 1,649,710 shares valued at $3,258,584 changing hands.
The Composite Index advanced by 0.81 points to close at 1,119.81, the All T&T Index fell 0.89 points to close at 1,786.12 and the Cross Listed Index rose by 0.35 points to 60.26.
IC bid-offer Indicator| The Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator ended with 5 stocks with the bid higher than the last selling prices and 5 with offers that were lower.
Gains| National Commercial Bank rose 5 cents to close with 136,865 shares for a value of $328,376, trading at $2.40.
Losses| First Citizens Bank traded 1,565 shares but fell 7 cents to end at a new 52 weeks’ low of $33.03, Massy Holdings closed at 52 weeks’ low of $49.98 after losing 1 cent, to close with 15,150 shares changing hands. National Flour lost 10 cents to end at $2.20 as 451,652 shares valued at $993,596 changed hands, Republic Financial fell 1 cent to a 52 weeks’ low of $108.79 with a mere 14 units changing hands.
Scotiabank had 40 shares trading at $54.96 after falling 1 cent for a 52 weeks’ low and Trinidad and Tobago NGL fell 1 cent in closing at $19.60 with 7,686 shares trading.Firm Trades| Clico Investment Fund traded 12,587 units at $22.55, Guardian Holdings closed at $13 with 2,000 shares trading, Guardian Media closed at $19.75 with 500 shares traded. JMMB Group closed at 58 cents with 1,000,000 shares changing hands for a value of $580,000, Point Lisas Industrial Port Development traded 1,651 at $3.94 and Trinidad Cement ended with 20,000 units trading at $3.35.
