Flows into the Jamaican foreign exchange market started the week on a strong note with dealers buying almost $67 million or $13 million than they sold, bringing the total surplus along with that of the week ending December 18, to US$26 million as the Jamaican dollar made a small recovery against the US dollar.
Dealers actually bought the equivalent of US$66,694,884 and sold US$53,329,088, compared with US$48,985,627 and US$38,223,472 respectively on Friday.
Purchases of US dollars , exceeded the amount sold by dealers by US$11.5 million with dealers buying US$62,348,278 compared to US$45,286,649 on Friday. The buying rate for the US dollar slipped by 16 cents to $119.73. A total of US$50,843,441 was sold versus US$36,755,007 on Friday, the selling rate fell by 3 cents to $120.34.
The Canadian dollar buying rate rose 30 cents to end at $83.67 with dealers buying C$2,180,609 and selling C$1,455,256, at an average rate that climbed 25 cents to $85.54. The rate for buying the British Pound declined $2.83 to $175.59 for the purchase of £1,775,301, while £708,226 was sold, with the rate rising 41 cents to $177.54. At the end of trading, it took J$130.53 to purchase the Euro, for a rise of 17 cents from Friday’s rate, according to data from Bank of Jamaica, while dealers purchased the European common currency at J$127.89 for a gain of 17 cents from Friday’s rate. The US dollar equivalent of other currencies traded, amounts to US$219,141 being bought, while US$406,451 was sold.
Highs & Lows| The highest buying rate for the US dollar, climbed $1.88 to $122,
the lowest buying rate rose 29 cents to $98.86, the highest selling rate gained 38 cents to $126.69 and lowest selling rate was up 21 cents to $98.78. The highest buying rate for the Canadian dollar dropped $3.20 to $86.55, the lowest buying rate declined $3.16 to $68.72, the highest selling rate dipped $2.66 to $90 and the lowest selling rate dipped $4 to $82. The highest buying rate for the British Pound, fell $3 to end at $179. The lowest buying rate lost $2.07 to $143.76, while the highest selling rate fell 31 cents to end at $185.32 and the lowest selling rate dipped $4 to $172.
Big intake of FX to start week
Another new record for juniors
The junior market closed at a record high on Monday
Trading ended with 11 securities trading of with 3 advanced and 3 declined with 1,290,587 units, valued at $4,845,099 changing hands as 2 stocks closed at 52 weeks’ highs. At the close there was 1 security ending with no bid to buy and 7 securities had no stocks being offered for sale. A total of 4 stocks closed with bids higher than their last traded prices while one closed with a lower offer.
In trading, AMG Packaging closed with 26,378 units changing hands at $7, Blue Power had 646 units changing hands to close at $13.10, Caribbean Producers closed at $4.45 to gain 5 cents with 290,856 units changing hands, Derrimon Trading ended with 10,000 shares changing hands at $3.80. Dolphin Cove closed at $17 with only 100 shares trading,
Honey Bun finished with 1,000 shares changing hands to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $6 after rising by 50 cents, KLE Group gained 15 cents to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $1.15, as 37,000 units changed hands. Lasco Distributors closed with 17,855 shares changing hands at $4.35 after declining by 15 cents, but it traded at an intraday 52 weeks’ high of $4.70. Lasco Financial fell 21 cents to closed at $3.12 with 461,995 shares changing hands as high as $3.50, Lasco Manufacturing rose 25 cents and closed at $3.55, with 443,813 shares trading and Sweet River ended with 944 units changing hands at $3.95.
US$13m net FX inflows for week
Jamaica enjoyed a week of strong net inflows on the FX front
Dealers bought the equivalent of US$48,985,627 and sold US$38,223,472, compared with US$42,340,656 and US$36,886,077 respectively on Thursday.
Purchase of US dollars , exceeded the amount sold by dealers by US$8.5 million with dealers buying US$45,286,649 compared to US$38,568,833 on Thursday. The buying rate for the US dollar rose 5 cents to $119.89. A total of US$36,755,007 was sold versus US$33,479,725 on Thursday, the selling rate moved up by 5 cents to $120.37. < The Canadian dollar buying rate dropped $1.70 to end at $83.37 with dealers buying C$1,240,010 and selling C$967,704, at an average rate that lost $1.14 to $85.29. a href=”http://icinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/FX-trade-sum-18-12-15.png”>
The rate for buying the British Pound climbed $2.88 to $178.42 for the purchase of £1,607,390, while £395,048 was sold, with the rate falling 51 cents to $177.13. At the end of trading, it took J$130.36 to purchase the Euro, for a fall of $1.37 from Thursday’s rate, according to data from Bank of Jamaica, while dealers purchased the European common currency at J$127.89 for a decline of $1.13 from Thursday’s rate. The US dollar equivalent of other currencies traded, amounts to US$444,482 being bought, while US$201,416 was sold.Highs & Lows| The highest buying rate for the US dollar, fell 43 cents to $120.12, the lowest buying rate dropped 29 cents to $98.57, the highest selling rate slipped 38 cents to $126.31 and lowest selling rate was down 21 cents to $98.57.
The highest buying rate for the Canadian dollar climbed $2.23 cents to $89.75, the lowest buying rate jumped $2.57 to $71.88, the highest selling rate dipped 29 cents to $92.66 and the lowest selling rate climbed $4 to $86. The highest buying rate for the British Pound, rose 93 cents to end at $182. The lowest buying rate gained $2.07 to $145.83, while the highest selling rate fell $1.87 to end at $185.63 and the lowest selling rate rose by $3 to $176.
Honey Bun trades 55m shares
The junior market missed out on a new record close on Friday with the index ending just 7.12 points shy of the record 1,676.68 points reached on November 18 this year. The market saw another big trade as Honey Bun traded more than 55 million shares, representing more than 58.5 percent of the of 94 million issued shares.
Mayberry Investments as brokers, executed the transactions with two blocks of 25,681,800 units and 1,894,000 each for a total value of $295 million. Michelle Chong and Herbert Chong the two largest shareholders controlled 37.5 million shares each in the company. The trades represent about 73.5 percent of their holdings. It is unclear at this time if the principals have sold out the majority to a new owner. On Thursday Derrimon Trading Company traded 40,051,505 shares valued at $155 million.
The junior market closed on Friday with only 7 securities trading of with 3 advanced and 2 declined. The junior market index gained 32.61 points to 1,669.56 with 55,544,624 units, valued at $296,776,261 changing hands.
At the close there was 1 security ending with no bid to buy and 7 securities had no stocks being offered for sale. A total of 2 stocks closed with bids higher than their last traded prices while one closed with a lower offer.
In trading, Access Financial Services closed with a gain of $1.88 at $16 with 2,000 units changing hands, Caribbean Producers closed at $4.50 to gain 25 cents with only 121,600 units changing hands. Derrimon Trading ended with 16,354 shares changing hands at $3.80, Honey Bun traded finished with 55,216,600 shares changing hands at $5.50, for a loss of 25 cents, Lasco Distributors closed with 54,013 shares changing hands at $4.50 after rising by 15 cents, Lasco Financial gained 33 cents to closed at $3,33, with 5,223 shares changing hands, Lasco Manufacturing lost 1 cent and closed at $3.30, with 128,834 shares trading.
Good FX inflows continue on Thursday
Flows into the Jamaican foreign exchange market remains elevated as dealers bought the equivalent of US$42,340,656 and sold US$36,886,077, compared with US$40,443,682 and US$38,941,809 respectively on Wednesday.
Purchase of US dollars , was above the amount sold by dealers by US$5 million with dealers buying US$38,568,833 compared to US$36,794,485 on Wednesday. The buying rate for the US dollar rose 15 cents to $119.84. A total of US$33,479,725 was sold versus US$37,917,698 on Wednesday, the selling rate moved down by 6 cents to $120.32. 
The Canadian dollar buying rate rose 87 cents to end at $85.07 with dealers buying C$2,789,000 and selling C$2,484,741, at an average rate that gained 62 cents to $86.43. The rate for buying the British Pound fell $3.17 to $175.54 for the purchase of £1,103,035, while £492,870 was sold, with the rate falling 92 cents to $177.64. At the end of trading, it took J$131.73 to purchase the Euro, up by 31 cents from Wednesday’s rate, according to data from Bank of Jamaica, while dealers purchased the European common currency at J$129.01 for a rise of 27 cents from Wednesday’s rate. The US dollar equivalent of other currencies traded, amounts to US$176,212 being bought, while US$893,905 was sold.
Highs & Lows| The highest buying rate for the US dollar, was unchanged at $120.55, the lowest buying rate rose 8 cents to $98.86, 
the highest selling rate rose 6 cents to $126.69 and lowest selling rate was unchanged at $98.78. The highest buying rate for the Canadian dollar climbed 32 cents to $87.52, the lowest buying rate dipped 66 cents to $69.31, the highest selling rate jumped $2.75 to $92.95 and the lowest selling rate slipped $1 to $82. The highest buying rate for the British Pound, declined by 53 cents to end at $181.07. The lowest buying rate declined $2.32 to $143.76, while the highest selling rate rose $1.82 to end at $187.50 and the lowest selling rate dropped $1 to $173.
Stocks eke out more gains – Thursday
Seprod hits new 52 weeks’ high on Thursday
The junior market accounted for 43,233,932 units, valued at $166,308,887 as 19 stocks in the combined markets gained, 14 declined, 5 stocks closed at 52 weeks’ high and 1 traded at an intraday high, but pulled back before the close.
While the main market indices rose, the gains were low at under 250 points with the JSE Market Index climbing 152.28 points to 144,410.21, the all Jamaica Composite Index rising 170.18 points to end at 160,342.85 and the JSE combined index adding 224.86 points aided by junior market gains, to close at 150,962.10. The main market faces a test at 165,000 points resistance level, on the all Jamaica composite index, but based on the churning of price movements in recent weeks, it is likely to take some more trading days to break through that level if the break takes place.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had a reading of 12 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 5 with lower offers.In trading, Berger Paints ended with 45,252 units trading with a decline of 15 cents to $3.15, Cable and Wireless rose 9 cents with only 198,570 units changing hands to close at $1.40, at the close, there were over 2 million units on the offer at $1.40 with bids not looking particularly strong at $1.30 and below. Caribbean Cement closed with a loss of 20 cents to end at $18, with 53,180 shares changing hands. Carreras fell 4 cents in closing at $59.01 with a mere 20,543 units trading, Ciboney traded at 27 cents with 65,000 units changing hands, Gleaner traded at $1.26 down 14 cents with 228,000 units trading, Grace Kennedy gained $1.50, with 10,581 units changing hands, to finish at $79.50. Jamaica Broilers price rose $1.90 to $10.50, with 71,366 shares changing hands, the stock was offered for sale at $9.90 at the close. The Jamaica Stock Exchange share traded 22,665 units and lost 5 cents to close at $18.95, Kingston Wharves saw trading in 15,000 shares at $11.35 as the price slipped 5 cents,
National Commercial Bank rose 34 cents and ended at $38.70 with 173,608 units changing hands, Pan Jamaican Investment had 13,000 units changing hands at $92.11, having lost 89 cents. Pulse Investments traded 148,669 shares with a loss of 40 cents to end at $2.10, Radio Jamaica lost 60 cents to land at $3 with 12,900 shares trading, Sagicor Group closed with 24,780 units changing hands but the price gained 6 cents to end at $16.81. Scotia Group gained 89 cents with 94,242 shares changing hands at $29, Supreme Ventures fell 15 cents to end at $4.50 with 37,168 units changing hands. Proven Investments rose 0.99 US cents had 145,550 shares trading at 22.99 US cents, followed by Proven Investments 8% preference share with 17,675 units trading at $5.10 with a loss of 40 cents.
Related party sells 40m Derrimon shares
Derrimon dominant shareholder sold off big block of shares.
Information is that a former shareholder acquired 40 million shares from a connected party. The only connected parties with that amount of shares, are Derrick Cotterell with 110,000,000 and Monique Cotterell with 40,000,000. Monica Bell mother to Derrick Cotterell also owns 40,000,000 shares or just under 14.6 percent of the issued ordinary shares, but she is not listed as a director of the company but would be regarded as a connected party.
The junior market closed on Thursday with 12 securities trading of which 7 advanced and 2 declined and 3 closed at new 52 weeks’ high. The junior market index gained 9.08 points to 1,636.95 with 43,233,932 units, valued at $166,308,887 changing hands.
At the close there was 1 security ending with no bid to buy and 7 securities had no stocks being offered for sale. A total of 5 stocks closed with bids higher than their last traded prices while one closed with a lower offer.
In trading, Access Financial Services closed with a gain of 9 cents at $14.11 with 2,000 units changing hands, AMG Packaging traded 24,074 units at $7 but traded at a new high of $7.50 in the morning session. Caribbean Cream closed at $3.27 to gain 47 cents with only 3,000 units changing hands. The stock closed with a bid to buy 40,000 units at $3.50 after attempts were made to trade over 1 million shares at $3.80. The trades were cancelled as the price would exceed 15 percent permitted for the day, with less than an hour of trading remaining, to allow for the unfreezing of the stock.
Caribbean Flavours rose 3 cents with 22,345 shares changing hands at a new 52 weeks’ high of $9 after hitting $9.30 earlier, General Accident ended with 62,300 shares changing hands at $1.94, for a loss of 10 cents, KLE Group traded at a new 52 weeks’ high of $1 after gaining a5 cents with 3,000 shares changing hands. Lasco Distributors closed with 206,600 shares changing hands at $4.35 after falling by 20 cents, Lasco Financial closed at $3, with 204,662 shares changing hands, Lasco Manufacturing gained 1 cent and closed at $3.31, with 2,652,146 shares trading. Paramount Trading ended with 2,000 shares changing hands at $9 and Eppley 10% preference share, ended with 300 units changing hands at $6.02.
Prices continue down on TTSE – Thursday
Guardian is the only stock to gain in trading on Thursday
Activity ended with 108,171 shares changing hands valued at $1,521,787. One stock closed at 52 weeks’ low. At the close, the Composite Index ended with a fall of 1.53 points to 1,159.06, the All T&T Index fell 0.53 points to 1,949.43 and the Cross Listed Index slipped 0.34 points to 48.50.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 4 stocks with bids higher than the last selling price and 7 stocks with offers that were lower.
Gains| Guardian Holdings was the sole stock rising with 10,493 shares traded with a gain of 3 cents to end at $13.10.
Declines| First Citizens Bank lost 1 cents while 100 shares changing hands, at $34.98, Guardian Media traded 47,310 shares but lost 1 cent end at $19.75, Massy Holdings traded 200 units and lost 3 cents to end at a 52 weeks low of $61.50. National Commercial Bank lost 5 cents to end with 49,143 units changing hands at $2.05 and Unilever fell 10 cents with 4,533 units changing hands at $68.15Firm Trades| Clico Investments traded 6,835 units to close at $22.75 and West Indian Tobacco closed at $126 with 50 shares changing hands.
Junior market rises on Wednesday
Caribbean Flavours hit a new high of $9 on Wednesday
At the close there was 1 security ending with no bid to buy and 8 securities had no stocks being offered for sale. A total of 7 stocks closed with bids higher than their last traded prices while none closed with a lower offer.
In trading, Access Financial traded 1,010 units at $14.02, to record a gain of 1 cent, Caribbean Flavours jumped 90 cents with 21,250 shares changing hands at a new 52 weeks’ high of $9, Caribbean Producers lost 35 cents in trading 18,509 units, to close at $4.25. General Accident ended with 1,000 shares changing hands at $2.04, for a gain of 13 cents, Knutsford Express climbed 80 cents to $11.30 with 5,267 shares changing hands.
Lasco Distributors closed with 17,050 shares changing hands at $4.55 after rising by 5 cents, Lasco Financial fell 10 cents ended at $3, with 97,827 shares changing hands. Lasco Manufacturing (LASM) gained 25 cents and closed at $3.30, with 2,553,756 shares trading. At the close the overhand of 2,536,706 units of LASM offered for sale at $3.30 by Stocks and Securities as broker for a client was cleared. Medical Disposables lost 30 cents and ended with 5,000 shares changing hands at $3.25 and Eppley 10% preference share, ended with 689 units changing hands at $6.02.
FX intake still elevated – Wednesday
Flows into the Jamaican foreign exchange market remains above the $40 million level as dealers bought the equivalent of US$40,443,682 and sold US$38,941,809, compared with US$43,117,589 and US$51,950,671 respectively on Tuesday.
Purchase of US dollars , was below the amount sold by dealers by just over US$1 million with dealers buying US$36,794,485 compared to US$36,930,693 on Tuesday. The buying rate for the US dollar rose 1 cent to $119.69. A total of US$37,917,698 was sold versus US$45,466,315 on Tuesday, the selling rate moved up 4 cents to $120.38. 
The Canadian dollar buying rate dropped $2.41 to end at $84.20 with dealers buying C$1,367,212 and selling C$607,368, at an average rate that dived $1.97 to $85.81. The rate for buying the British Pound rose 17 cents to $178.71 for the purchase of £1,716,642, while £310,227 was sold, with the rate falling $1.37 to $178.56. At the end of trading, it took J$131.43 to purchase the Euro, a fall of $1.21 from Tuesday’s rate, according to data from Bank of Jamaica, while dealers purchased the European common currency at J$128.74 for a decline of $1.24 from Tuesday’s rate. The US dollar equivalent of other currencies traded, amounts to US$124,217 being bought, while US$130,987 was sold.
Highs & Lows| The highest buying rate for the US dollar, fell 40 cents to $120.55, 
the lowest buying rate was unchanged at $98.78, the highest selling rate rose 5 cents to $126.63 and lowest selling rate rose 8 cents to $98.78. The highest buying rate for the Canadian dollar fell $1.40 to $87.20, the lowest buying rate remained at $69.97, the highest selling rate fell 40 cents to $90.20 and the lowest selling rate slipped 50 cents $83. The highest buying rate for the British Pound, declined 40 cents to end at $181.60. The lowest buying rate gained 17 cents to $146.08, while the highest selling rate declined $2.43 to end at $185.68 and the lowest selling rate stayed at $174.
