Stocks recorded gains in the Junior market to add to the index as two of the Lasco listed companies recorded gains, but the main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange saw continued losses in the indices. Trading levels were moderate with less stocks trading in the early session than in recent times.
The leading trades are Lasco Distributors with 414,078 units at $6.10, Lasco Manufacturing with 711,631 shares at $4.10 followed by Cable & Wireless with 115,518 at $1.30 and JMMB Group 109,815 shares at $9.50.
Trading saw all major indices falling after 75 minutes of trading on Thursday with an average of 83,005 units per active stock traded, compared to an average of 214,849 units traded in the mid-morning session on Wednesday.
A total of only 18 securities accounting for 1,494,093 shares changed hands at 10.45 am as 7 stocks gained and 6 declined.
The market saw the all Jamaica Composite Index dived 1,190.18 points to 164,285.71, the JSE Market Index dropped 1,064.21 points to 147,942.69, the JSE combined index ending with a fall of 551.98 points to 156,967.34 and the junior market index rose 42.44 points to 1,923.87.
JSE majors down again – Thursday’s
More losses for Jamaican$ – Wednesday
Trading in the foreign exchange market resulted in the Jamaican dollar losing some more value on Wednesday for the third time this week. The market closed with dealers buying the equivalent of US$33,990,180 and selling US$38,856,139, in contrast to US$29,032,584 purchased and US$51,852,594 sold on Tuesday.
In US dollars trading, dealers bought US$30,872,138 compared to US$25,427,548 on Tuesday, as the buying rate for the US dollar added 33 cents to end at $121.87. A total of US$36,566,568 was sold versus US$47,856,185 on Tuesday, the selling rate rose 9 cents to $122.55. 
The Canadian dollar buying rate rose 20 cents to end at $94.68 with dealers buying C$1,476,932 and selling C$1,354,910, at an average rate that fell 59 cents to $96.91. The rate for buying the British Pound rose by 68 cents to $172.23 for the purchase of £1,299,462, while £637,723 was sold, as the rate rose $2.08 to $174.87. At the end of trading, the selling rate for Euro, rose 72 cents to close at J$139.31, from Tuesday’s rate, according to data from Bank of Jamaica, while dealers purchased the European common currency at J$136.19 for a rise of 40 cents on Tuesday’s rate. The US dollar equivalent of other currencies traded, amounts to US$134,236 being bought, while US$308,070 was sold.
Highs & Lows| Notable changes to the highest and lowest traded rates for the currencies on Wednesday are, a jump of $16.57 in the lowest selling rate of the US dollar to $118.80, a rise of $1 in the highest buying rate for the British Pound to $177.50, an increase of $1.03 in the lowest buying rate to $140.06, a rise in the in the highest selling rate by $1.35 to $182.25, while the lowest selling rate fell $1 to $165.
Juniors rise again – Wednesday
Honey Bun fell $3 to close at $13 on Wednesday.
At the close of trading only 3 stocks closed with bids higher than the last selling prices and just 2 ended with lower offers.
At the end of trading, AMG Packaging closed trading with 8,000 units to end at $13, Cargo Handlers hit a new 52 weeks’ high by gaining 52 cents to close with 1,000 units changing hands at $43.51, Caribbean Cream traded 38,648 units to end at $4 after trading down to $3.65 in the morning session. Caribbean Producers traded 4,570 units but gained 7 cents to end at $4, Consolidated Bakeries gained 4 cents with 1,000 shares trading $1.10,
General Accident traded 939,649 shares and rose 15 cents to end at $2.65, Honey Bun fell $3 to close at $13 while 5,898 shares changed hands. Iron Rock Insurance did not trade but had 5,003,000 units on the bid to at $3.10, while the stock last traded at $3.50. Jetcon Corporation fell 3 cents and closed at $2.47 after 61,500 shares changed hands, Lasco Distributors gained 30 cents to end at $5.80 with 216,200 units trading, Lasco Financial fell by 8 cents and closed at $2.95, with 4,000 shares changing hands. Lasco Manufacturing gained 11 cents with 151,325 shares changing hands to close at $3.72 and tTech ended with 5,744 shares changing hands at $4.15 as the price gained 3 cents.
Jamaican stocks drop again – Wednesday
The Jamaica Stock Exchange main market indices on Wednesday gave up much more than they gained on Tuesday, with losses exceeding 2.3 percent compared to more than 1.90 percent gained on Tuesday. The all Jamaica Composite and the JSE index dropped more than 1,000 points on Wednesday.
A total of 37 securities changed hands, in all market segments with 14 stocks rising while 16 declined. Trading amounted to 6,525,627 units valued at $85,157,957 changing hands, in all markets, the junior market accounting for 1,448,567 units valued at $4,853,764.
The JSE Market Index declined 1,043.10 points to end at 149,006.90, the all Jamaica Composite Index fell 1,166.58 points to 165,475 and the JSE combined index dropped 699.90 points, to close at 157,519.32.
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 4 with lower offers.
At the end of market activities, Barita added 42 cents with just 3,000 units changing hands to end at $3.72, Berger Paints closed at $4 after trading 26,000 shares with a gain of 50 cents, Cable & Wireless rose by 2 cents to close at $1.28, in trading 40,000 units. Caribbean Cement fell $1.89 to close at $19.11 with 3,075,900 shares changing hands, Carreras ended trading with 18,790 shares, to close at $66, Ciboney traded 461,143 shares but shed 2 cents to end at 13 cents, Grace lost 42 cents to close at $81.10 with 142,927 shares trading. Jamaica Broilers had 30,865 units changing hands, to close with a loss of 80 cents at $13.70. Jamaica Producers ended at $32 while trading 105,600 shares, JMMB Group had 22,971 shares changing hands with a loss of 38 cents to end at $9.60, 
Margaritaville Turks traded 138,798 shares to close at 16.5 US cents after falling 97 cents, National Commercial Bank had 8,594 shares changing hands to close at $40. Pan Jamaican Investments traded 11,500 units at $90, Radio Jamaica rose 1 cents as 710,157 shares were traded to close at $1.15, Sagicor Group fell 50 cents in ending with 854 shares changing hands to close at $22.50. Scotia Group traded just 486 shares to close at $30.30 after falling 75 cents, Supreme Ventures rose 5 cents with 11,000 shares trading to end at $5.10, Proven Investmenst closed at 17 US cents while trading 108,862 shares, and the JMMB 7.50% preference share, traded 92,200 units with a loss of 1 cent at $1.05, a 52 weeks’ low.
Early losses for JSE majors – Wednesday
Stocks recorded gains in the Junior market to add to the index, but the main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange saw continued losses in the indices.
Stocks that came in for good demand are, Caribbean Cement trading 3,037,050 shares with the price falling by $3, General Accident 890,649 shares and Radio Jamaica 
with 707,377 shares to be the top trades. Honey Bun also fell by $3 to $13.
Trading saw all major indices falling after 90 minutes of trading on Wednesday with an average of 214,849 units per active stock traded, up from an average of 57,433 units traded in the mid-morning session on Tuesday.
A total of 23 securities accounting for 4,941,535 shares changed hands at 11am as 9 stocks gained and 8 declined.
The market saw the all Jamaica Composite Index dived 550.69 points to 166,091.78, the JSE Market Index dropped 492.40 points to 149,557.60 the JSE combined index ending with a fall of 151.14 points to 158,068.08 and the junior market index rose 29.80 points to 1,884.13.
Jamaican$ falls again – Tuesday
Trading in the foreign exchange market resulted in the Jamaican dollar losing some more value on Tuesday against all the majors it trades with. The market closed with dealers buying the equivalent of US$29,032,584 and selling US$51,852,594, in contrast to US$53,873,364 purchased and US$48,342,459 sold on Monday.
In US dollars trading, dealers bought US$25,427,548 compared to US$49,748,240 on Monday, as the buying rate for the US dollar fell 15 cents to end at $121.54. A total of US$47,856,185 was sold versus US$46,610,741 on Monday, the selling rate rose 13 cents to $122.46.
The Canadian dollar buying rate rose $1.92 to end at $94.48 with dealers buying C$1,390,937 and selling C$3,959,309, at an average rate that climbed $2.72 to $97.50. The rate for buying the British Pound rose by $2.04 to $171.55 for the purchase of £1,651,855, while £264,931 was sold, as the rate rose $1.49 to $172.79. At the end of trading, the selling rate for Euro, rose 42 cents to close at J$138.59, from Monday’s rate, according to data from Bank of Jamaica, while dealers purchased the European common currency at J$135.79 for a rise of 37 cents on Monday’s rate. The US dollar equivalent of other currencies traded, amounts to US$192,442 being bought, while US$470,505 was sold.
Highs & Lows| Notable changes to the highest and lowest rates the currencies traded at on Tuesday are, a rise of $2.45 in the lowest selling rate of the US dollar to $102.23, a fall of $1.10 in the highest buying rate for the Canadian dollar to $97.18, a rise in the highest selling rate by $1.86 to $99.92, while the highest selling rate for the British Pound rose by 86 cents to $180.90.
Jamaican stocks drop 3,759 points – Tuesday
The Jamaica Stock Exchange main market indices on Tuesday gave up much more than they gained on Monday, with losses exceeding 2.3 percent compared to more than 1.90 percent gained on Monday. The all Jamaica Composite index dropped more than 4,291 points on Tuesday, as Sagicor Group pulled back to $23 from $24, it closed at on Monday and Scotia Group trading at $31.05 at the close, well below the average price the indices are computed on.
A total of 37 securities changed hands, in all market segments with 13 stocks rising while 15 declined while two traded at new highs. Trading amounted to 6,138,410 units valued at $ $92,070,194 changing hands, in all markets, the junior market accounting for 1,514,172 units valued at $7,024,157.
The JSE Market Index dived 3,837.64 points to end at 150,050.00, the all Jamaica 
Composite Index plunged 4,291.88 points to 166,642.47 and the JSE combined index dropped 3,758.77 points, to close at 158,219.22.
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 4 with lower offers.
At the end of market activities, Cable & Wireless rose by 1 cent to close at $1.26, in trading 267,832 units. Caribbean Cement fell $2 to close at $21 with 55,406 shares changing hands, Carreras ended trading with 5,370 shares, to close at $66, Cidoney traded 112,440 shares but shed 8 cents to end at 15 cents, Grace Kennedy jumped $1.37 to close at $81.52 with 61,027 shares trading. Jamaica Broilers had 86,000 units changing hands, to close with a loss of 30 cents at $14.50. Jamaica Producers lost $1 and ended at $32 while trading 1,709,600 shares, 
JMMB Group had 42,000 shares changing hands with a gain of 48 cents to end at $9.98, Margaritaville Turks traded 577,051 shares to close at 17.47 US cents after rising by 2.47 cents, National Commercial Bank declined 25 cents with 14,283 shares changing hands to close at $40. Radio Jamaica traded 134,542 shares to close at $1.14, Sagicor Group fell $1 in ending with 29,060 shares changing hands to close at $23. Sagicor Real Estate Fund traded 104,000 shares to close at $9.80 after falling 20 cents, Scotia Group traded just 836 shares to close at $31.05 after gaining $1.05 from Monday’s last traded price and the JMMB 7.50% preference share, traded 41,000 units with a loss of 1 cent at $1.06.
Demand climbs for juniors – Tuesday
The junior market index lost some ground by the close on Tuesday with a loss of 19.39 points to end at 1,855.33, but trading volumes climbed above Monday’ s levels as Caribbean Cream, Lasco Distributors and Lasco Financial Services traded over 280,000 units each. Trading ended with 16 active securities, 6 of which advanced and 5 declined while 1,514,172 units valued at $7,024,157, changed hands.
On Monday 1,099,234 shares traded valued at $4.6 million at the close of trading only 1 stock closed with the bid higher than the last selling price and just 2 ended with lower offers.
At the end of trading, AMG Packaging gained 50 cents in trading 5,700 units to end at $13, Cargo Handlers hit a new 52 weeks’ high by gaining 52 cents to close with 1,000 units changing hands at $43.51, Caribbean Cream traded 283,550 units to end at $4. Caribbean Producers traded 1,732 units but fell 7 cents to end at $3.93, Consolidated Bakeries gained 1 cent with 15,000 shares trading $1.06, Dolphin Cove traded 200 shares at $13 for a loss of $1.50, Honey Bun fell 50 cents to close at $16 while 17,300 shares changed hands. Iron Rock Insurance closed with 10,000 units changing hands to end at $3.50.
Jamaican Teas rose 9 cents and closed at $3.50 after 26,085 shares changed hands, Key Insurance fell 3 cents while trading 10,000 shares to close at $2.50, Knutsford Express closed with 9,200 units changing hands at $19. Lasco Distributors gained 5 cents to end at $5.50 with 634,064 units trading, Lasco Financial rose by 41 cents and closed at $3.03, with 288,330 shares changing hands, Lasco Manufacturing gained 10 cents with 208,236 shares changing hands to close at $3.70. Medical Disposables closed at $3.15 with 2,200 shares trading and tTech ended with 1,155 shares changing hands at $4.12 as the price gained 2 cents.
4 stocks fall on TTSE – Tuesday
The Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange recorded mild losses on Tuesday with 112,354 shares valued at $1,496,835 changing hands. The market closed with only 8 securities traded as weakness continue in prices of stocks. At the close 1 stock rose, 4 declined, while 3 remained unchanged. One stock closed at 52 weeks’ low at the end of trading.
The as reflected in the quotes for Republic Holdings and Scotiabank. The former last traded at $110 but have a closing bid at $109 to sell 1,690 shares with no bid posted for several days to buy and Scotiabank with the last traded price of $57.40 with an offer at $56.49 to sell 3,192 shares and the bid at $55 for 2,000 shares. First Citizens Bank, Ansa McAl and Massy Holdings are also under pressure at the close.
The Composite Index declined by 1.79 points to close at 1,132.10, the All T&T Index fell 3.56 points to close at 1,810.03 and the Cross Listed Index remained unchanged at 60.32.
IC bid-offer Indicator| The Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator ended with 4 stocks with the bid higher than the last selling price and 10 with offers that were lower.
Gains| National Enterprises closed with 15,050 shares changing hands at $11.28 after jumping by 3 cents.
Losses| First Citizens Bank lost 26 cents in closing at a new 52 weeks’ low of $33.24 with only 150 units changing hands.
Sagicor Financial Corporation lost 1 cent to close at $7.25 with 11,883 shares changing hands, Trinidad and Tobago NGL fell $1 and closed at $20, with 53,585 shares traded for $1,073,301 and Trinidad Cement lost 4 cents in closing at $3.45 as 3,289 shares changed hands.
Firm Trades| Guardian Holdings had 200 shares changing hands to end at $13, National Flour had 27,521 units changing hands at $2.30 and West Indian Tobacco closed at $126.29 as 676 units changed hands.
JSE gives up gains in early trading – Tuesday
Demand came in for a number of stocks on Tuesday morning in trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange with Margaritaville Turks having 577,051 units changing hands having gained 2.47 US cents to trade at 17.47 US cents.
Other stocks that came in for decent demand are, Grace Kennedy with 61,027 shares, Jamaica Broilers 79,000 shares, Radio Jamaica 125,520 stock units, Caribbean Cream 143,550 shares, Lasco Financial Services 144,669 units and Lasco Manufacturing with 74,201 shares.
Trading saw all major indices rising after 75 minutes of trading on Tuesday with an average of 57,433 per active stock traded, up from an average of 54,170 units traded in the mid-morning session on Tuesday.
A total of 23 securities compared, accounting for 1,320,967 shares changed hands at 10.45 am as 7 stocks gained and 7 declined.
The market saw the all Jamaica Composite Index dived 3,468.44 points to 167,465.91, the JSE Market Index dropped 3,101.35 points to 150,786.29the JSE combined index ending with a fall of 2,931.71 points to 159,046.28 and the junior market index fell 5.34 points to 1,869.38.
