Trading picked up on the Jamaica Stock Exchange Main Market index on Tuesday, with the market closing lower after 58 securities changed hands compared with 60 on Monday, with 16 stocks rising, 26 declining and 16 ending unchanged, with Transjamaican Highway accounting for 45 percent of the volume of stocks traded, driving the market volume up by 98 percent and the value 181 percent above that on Monday.
The market closed with 29,367,477 shares trading for $182,552,839 rising steeply from 14,854,030 stock units at $65,132,064 on Monday.
Trading averaged 506,336 shares at $3,150,366 compared to 247,567 stocks worth $1,085,534 on Monday and month to date, an average of 257,771 stock units at $2,052,604 compared with 238,548 shares at $1,967,710 on the previous day and April with an average of 1,417,136 stock units at $6,010,754.
Transjamaican Highway led trading with 13.28 million shares for 45.2 percent of total volume, followed by Wigton Energy which ended with 6.43 million stocks for 21.9 percent of the day’s trade, JMMB Group 10% preferred shares closed with 4.97 million stock units for 16.9 percent of the volume traded and NCB Financial with 2.08 million shares for 7.1 percent of market share.
The All Jamaican Composite Index plunged 4,800.03 points to 366,344.01, the JSE Main Index sank 1,305.56 points to conclude trading at 320,169.29 and the JSE Financial Index shed just 0.20 points to wrap up trading at 66.83. At the close, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows 13 stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and four with lower offers.
The Main Market ended trading with an average PE Ratio of 12.6. The JSE Main and the USD Market PE ratios are based on last traded prices and earnings forecasts by ICInsider.com for companies with the financial year ending around August 2025.
At the close of the market, Caribbean Cement dipped 51 cents and ended at $81 after an exchange of 11,679 shares, Caribbean Producers increased 35 cents to $8.35 with investors trading 9,452 stock units, Eppley Caribbean Property Fund sank $4.39 to $37.11 with investors trading 2,455 shares. First Rock Real Estate climbed 60 cents to $9.62 as investors exchanged 1,405 stocks, GraceKennedy shed 50 cents to close at $71.50 after a transfer of 52,562 units, Guardian Holdings popped $56 to finish at $364 after investors ended trading 101 shares. Jamaica Broilers rallied $1.19 to $27.40 after an exchange of 1,446 units, Jamaica Stock Exchange fell 35 cents in closing at $12.45 with investors swapping 1,823 stocks, Mayberry Group dropped $1.37 to $6.02 with 1,009 stock units clearing the market. NCB Financial lost 49 cents and ended at $43.50 with traders dealing in 2,076,920 shares, 138 Student Living rose 45 cents to close at $3.67 with 50,622 stocks crossing the market, Pan Jamaica advanced 50 cents to end at $53.45 in trading 89,380 units. Sagicor Group dropped 97 cents to $42.52 with investors passing 27,465 stock units through the market, 
Scotia Group shed $4.14 in closing at $53.01 with traders swapping 89,375 shares, Stanley Motta declined 73 cents to finish at $6 with investors dealing in 31 units. Supreme Ventures sank 84 cents and ended at $19.15 with 8,247 stocks crossing the market, Sygnus Credit Investments skidded 55 cents to close at $12 in an exchange of 19,251 stock units and Wisynco Group fell 78 cents to end at $20.22 with investors trading 15,475 shares.
In the preference segment, Eppley 7.25% preference share declined $2.40 to $17.60 after an exchange of 53 stocks, Jamaica Public Service 7% gained $3.50 to close at $38.50 after closing with 15 units changing hands and 138 Student Living preference share rose $35 to $241 with traders exchanging 7 stock units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Trading ended with activities in 39 securities, down from 46 on Monday and ending with prices of 14 rising, 18 declining and seven closing unchanged. Spur Tree Spices closed at a 52 week Low of $1.08 while Edufocal traded at an intraday 52 week low of 21 cents.
At the close of the market, Access Financial lost $2.85 in closing at $14.32 with traders dealing in 1,522 shares, with Caribbean Assurance Brokers dropping 34 cents to $2.06 with 39,000 stock units crossing the market, Caribbean Cream shed 17 cents to end at $2.16 with dealings in 9,800 shares. Dolla Financial gained 9 cents and ended at $2.47 with investors exchanging 248,241 stocks, Dolphin Cove slipped 10 cents to finish at $12 and closed with 124,556 units changing hands, Everything Fresh rose 16 cents to close at $2.38 as investors switched ownership of 2,469 stocks. Fontana skidded 48 cents to $8.57 after a transfer of 105,042 units, Honey Bun sank 25 cents to close at $8.15 with investors trading 8,207 shares, Indies Pharma rallied 15 cents to finish at $3.85 with traders exchanging 18,030 stock units. Iron Rock Insurance increased 47 cents and ended at $3.80 with 87 shares clearing the market, ISP Finance dipped $1.34 to end at $10.16 as traders exchanged 326 units, 
Jetcon Corporation fell 8 cents in closing at $1.02 with 21,520 stocks changing hands. JFP Ltd slipped 7 cents to 50 cents as investors exchanged 24,059 stock units, KLE Group declined 14 cents to end at 92 cents in trading 6,403 shares, Knutsford Express sank $1.84 in closing at $12.56 with 1,029 stocks passing through the market. Lasco Financial climbed 18 cents to finish at $1.80 with a transfer of 4,600 units, Lumber Depot popped 12 cents and ended at $2.93 after traders exchanged 3,001 stock units, Mailpac Group advanced 11 cents to close at $2.49 with investors trading 14,735 shares. MFS Capital Partners rose 8 cents to 50 cents with 693,893 stock units crossing the exchange, RA Williams rallied 11 cents to finish at 57 cents after the trading of 210 stocks, Regency Petroleum increased 10 cents and ended at $3.60 after investors exchanged 1,165,598 units and Stationery and Office Supplies climbed 7 cents to close at $1.49 with investors swapping just one share.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
In addition to losing the $320 million per year for the next three years, shareholders have already chalked up a loss on their shares of $2.1 billion, following the announcement in March, and it could get worse, with the bid to buy the stock at $45 and the offer to sell at $46, last Friday. The dividend suspension will conserve TT$951.5 million for the three years based on $1.80 paid in 2024, 2023 and 2022, but it has had a detrimental impact on shareholders.
Some shareholders do not buy the optimism expressed by the directors, at least not now. For the year ending December last year, revenue grew by 5 percent to $7.4 billion and profits climbed just over 10 percent to $571 million from $517 million in 2023. On the surface, the stock should have been rising, instead, it has fallen from a 2025 high of $61. Compounding the issue, revenue grew 9.6 percent to $1.8 billion for the March 2025 quarter. Profits for the quarter dived 50 percent to $54 million from US$107 million as finance cost surged from $10 million to $52 million.
The market closed with trading of 354,864 shares for $1,555,142, up from 133,047 stocks at $902,024 on Monday.
Ansa McAl shed $1 to $45 in switching ownership of 100 units, Calypso Macro Investment Fund rallied $1.40 in closing at $24.95 with trading in 12,837 stocks. CIBC Caribbean Bank increased 5 cents to end at $8.25 in an exchange of 31,193 shares, First Citizens Group remained at $43.50 with investors ending up trading 559 stocks, GraceKennedy climbed 15 cents to finish at $3.90 in an exchange of 12,715 shares. Guardian Holdings ended at $16.65, with 24 stock units crossing the market, Massy Holdings rose 2 cents to $4 after an exchange of 341 units, National Enterprises gained 1 cent in closing at $2.45 with a transfer of 1,715 stocks. National Flour Mills declined 2 cents to end at $1.68 as investors exchanged 174,281 shares, 
NCB Financial popped 2 cents to finish at $2.02, with 100,000 stock units crossing the market, Prestige Holdings ended at $10.60 in trading 47 units. Republic Financial remained at $112 after 942 stocks crossed the exchange, Scotiabank sank $1 to finish at $51 with investors trading 427 units, Trinidad & Tobago NGL ended at $3.51 and closed, with an exchange of 1,462 stocks. Unilever Caribbean remained at $12.85 with 10,046 shares being traded and West Indian Tobacco remained at $5.16, with 6,653 stock units clearing the market.
The market closed with 14,854,030 shares trading worth $65,132,064, down from 15,326,884 stock units at $209,095,375 on Friday.
The Main Market ended trading with an average PE Ratio of 12.7. The JSE Main and the USD Market PE ratios are based on last traded prices and earnings forecasted by ICInsider.com for companies with the financial year ending around August 2025.
Sagicor Group rose 49 cents to $43.49 with investors dealing in 4,364 units, Scotia Group shed 73 cents to end at $57.15 with traders exchanging 23,912 stocks. Seprod rallied $2.50 and ended at $84 as 22,712 shares changed hands, Supreme Ventures increased by 99 cents to finish at $19.99 after 5,072 stocks were traded, Sygnus Credit Investments advanced 55 cents to close at $12.55 with investors exchanging 8,226 units and Sygnus Real Estate Finance declined $1.24 to $8 after a transfer of 1,855 stock units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
At the close of the market, Spur Tree Spices ended at a 52 week low of $1.08, RA Williams closed at a 52 week low of 46 cents while Dolla Financial and Main Event traded at 52 week intraday lows of $2.18 and $9.10, respectively.
At the close of trading, the Junior Market Index fell 39.48 points to close at 3,401.96. The Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows 10 stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with a lower offer, reflecting a likely positive opening on Tuesday.
Elite Diagnostic advanced 20 cents to finish at $1.50 as 654 shares crossed the market. Everything Fresh rose 19 cents to $2.22 in an exchange of 19,483 stock units, Express Catering gained 10 cents to finish at $2.80 with investors swapping 7,146 stocks, Iron Rock Insurance sank 57 cents and ended at $3.33 in an exchange of 104,021 stock units. JFP Ltd rallied 6 cents to close at 57 cents with investors trading 522,717 shares, KLE Group popped 14 cents in closing at $1.06 with an exchange of a mere one stock unit, Lasco Financial slipped 6 cents to end at $1.62 with traders clearing 10,000 units in the market. Mailpac Group fell 16 cents to $2.38 after an exchange of 72,115 stock units, Medical Disposables skidded 9 cents to close at $1.35 with investors trading 1,527 shares, RA Williams lost 6 cents to finish at 46 cents with 67,561 stocks crossing the exchange and Regency Petroleum shed 10 cents and ended at $3.50 with traders dealing in 74,581 units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Ansa Merchant Bank remained at $39.50 in trading 10 units, CIBC Caribbean Bank rose 5 cents to $8.20 after 7 stocks passed through the market, First Citizens Group ended at $43.50 in an exchange of 1,010 shares. GraceKennedy sank 10 cents in closing at $3.75 and ended with an exchange of 27,029 stocks, Guardian Holdings ended at $16.65 with 2,078 units crossing the exchange, Guardian Media shed 3 cents to close at 97 cents in switching ownership of 300 stock units. JMMB Group rallied 7 cents to end at $1.22 with investors dealing in 3 shares, Massy Holdings popped 7 cents to finish at $3.98 in an exchange of 10 stock units, National Enterprises remained at $2.44 with 22,591 stocks changing hands. National Flour Mills gained 6 cents to $1.70 in the trading of 14,224 units, NCB Financial remained at $2 with 21,387 stocks crossing the market, One Caribbean Media ended at $2.99 with a transfer of 16 units. Point Lisas increased 78 cents to finish at $4.24 as investors exchanged 100 shares, 
Prestige Holdings dipped 1 cent to close at $10.60 with 350 stock units crossing the market, Republic Financial ended at $112 with traders dealing in 788 shares. Scotiabank sank $1.98 in closing at $52 after an exchange of 40 stocks, Trinidad & Tobago NGL remained at $3.51 with investors trading 3,045 units, Trinidad Cement climbed 25 cents to finish at $2.40 after a transfer of 251 stock units. Unilever Caribbean advanced 11 cents and ended at $12.85 with investors trading 36,713 shares and West Indian Tobacco popped 1 cent to close at $5.16 after an exchange of 2,882 stocks.
AMG Packaging declined 14 percent, Elite Diagnostic dived 13 percent, Dolla Financial dropped 12 percent and Express Catering slipped 5 percent. Following the solid increase of 176 percent in the first quarter profit, Caribbean Flavours jumped sharply by 29 percent, followed by Kintyre Holdings, up 6 percent and Iron Rock Insurance with a gain of 5 percent.
The Junior Market had two new listings in the ICTOP10, following the falling out of Caribbean Flavours and Iron Rock Insurance. In the All JSE ICTOP10 listings, Express Catering and Scotia Group were replaced by Caribbean Assurance Brokers and MFS Partners.
ICInsider.com ranks stocks are based on projected earnings, allowing investors to focus on the most undervalued stocks and remove emotions when selecting stocks for investments.
Stocks with the potential to gain 100 percent or more when the market comes back to life, include CIBC Caribbean Bank which could rise by 200 percent, the severely undervalued Guardian Holdings, with a 380 percent potential gain, Republic Holdings at 140 percent, First Citizens Bank 85 percent, Trinidad Cement with 380 percent, Eric Solis with a 180 percent potential gain and One Caribbean Media with 300 percent.
The market closed with 15,326,884 shares trading worth $209,095,375, sliding from 24,639,843 stock units at $149,281,517 on Thursday.
At the close of the market, Berger Paints rallied 55 cents and ended at $7.62 after 4,015 shares were traded, Carreras lost 39 cents to $16 with 152,942 units crossing the exchange, Eppley sank 55 cents to end at $32.75 with investors trading 601 shares. Eppley Caribbean Property Fund shed $4.90 in closing at $37.10 as buyers walked off with 2,267 stocks, General Accident increased 40 cents to finish at $5.30 as investors passed 3,570 stock units through the market, Guardian Holdings popped $42 to close at $390 as investors exchanged 294 shares. Jamaica Broilers advanced 50 cents to $27.50 after a transfer of 15,256 units, Jamaica Stock Exchange sank 44 cents in closing at $12.76 with investors trading 26,074 stocks, JMMB Group dropped 35 cents and ended at $20.10 with an exchange of 13,907 stock units. Kingston Wharves rose 40 cents to end at $29.50 with 2,483 shares clearing the market, Margaritaville fell 89 cents to finish at $12.51 with a transfer of 85 stocks, 
Mayberry Group climbed $1.17 to close at $7.47 after an exchange of a mere 2 units. NCB Financial skidded $1.41 to $43.99, with 209,442 stock units crossing the market, with increased buying interest in Scotia Group in recent weeks, investors picked up 171,616 shares at $1.48 more in closing at $57.88 than the opening, Seprod declined $2.48 to end at $81.50 with 3,491 stock units switching owners. Supreme Ventures dipped 99 cents to close at $19 with investors swapping 5,628,924 stocks and Wisynco Group rose 74 cents and ended at $21.29 in an exchange of 38,641 units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.