Market activity ended on Monday with the volume of shares rising 35 percent with a moderately lower value than on Friday on the Jamaica Stock Exchange Main Market as rising stocks were less than those declining.
The All Jamaican Composite Index advanced 1,714.09 points to 450,248.74, the JSE Main Index rallied 1,343.48 points to end at 398,145.50 and the JSE Financial Index slipped 0.08 points to settle at 96.39.
Trading ended with 58 securities compared to 59 on Friday, with 20 rising, 16 declining and 22 ending unchanged.
The PE Ratio, a formula for computing appropriate stock values, averages 16.5. The PE ratio for the JSE Main and USD Market closing quotes are based on ICInsider.com earnings forecasts for companies with financial years ending up to August 2022.
Overall, 17,366,749 shares were exchanged for $123,870,428 down from 12,877,557 units at $136,432,061 on Friday. 
QWI Investments led trading with 28.4 percent of total volume for an exchange of 4.93 million shares followed by Wigton Windfarm, 13.2 percent with 2.29 million units, Sagicor Select Financial Fund, 11.7 percent, with 2.03 million units, Transjamaican Highway accounted for 11 percent with 1.91 million units, JMMB Group 7.25% preference share with 7.1 percent for 1.23 million units and Carreras with 6.8 percent after trading 1.18 million units.
Trading averages 299,431 units at $2,135,697, compared to 218,264 shares at $2,312,408 on Friday and month to date, an average of 250,996 units at $2,443,491, compared to 238,836 units at $2,520,773 on the prior trading day. January closed with an average of 235,328 units at $2,397,571.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows seven stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and five with lower offers.
At the close, Caribbean Cement advanced $4 to $79 in exchanging 16,503 shares, Caribbean Producers rallied $2.13 to end at $19.98 with 369,059 units crossing the market, First Rock Capital popped 43 cents in closing at $12.15 with 23,142 stock units changing hands. Jamaica Producers gained 76 cents in ending at $22.95 with the swapping of 2,993 stocks, Kingston Wharves rose $1.67 to close at $41.98 after 10,926 units crossed the exchange, Massy Holdings dropped $56 in closing at an all-time low since it was listed on the local exchange at $1,994 with a transfer of 5,737 stocks. Mayberry Investments gained 94 cents to finish at $7.05 in trading 9,070 stock units, MPC Caribbean Clean Energy shed 83 cents to close at $119.17 in switching ownership of 5 shares, NCB Financial fell $2.48 to $130.01 after trading 126,999 stock units.
Proven Investments picked up 48 cents in ending at $33.48 after exchanging 67,415 shares, Sagicor Group rose $1 to close at $55 in transferring 129,595 units, Scotia Group declined $2.09 to end at $35.51 with 14,043 stock units changing hands. Seprod lost 60 cents to settle at $61.50 after 7,226 stock units crossed the market, Supreme Ventures popped 30 cents in closing at $18.30 in trading 179,005 shares, Sygnus Credit Investments lost 43 cents to end at $14.80 with the swapping of 61,345 stocks. Victoria Mutual Investments rallied 36 cents to $7.10 in switching ownership of 237,292 units, Wisynco Group shed 97 cents in closing at $19.03 with 286,810 shares clearing the market.
In the preference segment, 138 Student Living preference shares advanced $2.10 to end at a 52 weeks’ high of $8.70 in trading 28 stock units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Friday, resulting in an even number of stocks rising than falling.
Margaritaville remained at 18 US cents after exchanging one unit, Proven Investments advanced 0.8 of a cent to 22 US cents and exchanging 20,281 stocks. Sterling Investments climbed 0.2 of a cent to 2.3 US cents with the swapping of 62,791 stock units, Sygnus Real Estate Finance USD share shed 1 cent to end at 13 US cents in exchanging 21,724 stocks, Transjamaican Highway rallied 0.01 of a cent in closing at 0.89 US cents in an exchange of 300,000 units.
All 43 securities traded similar to Friday and ended with 22 rising, 14 declining and seven, closing unchanged.
At the close, Access Financial lost $2.30 after ending at $21.50 and trading 27,382 shares, Blue Power advanced 10 cents to close at $3.25 in exchanging 6,456 units, CAC 2000 rallied 25 cents to end at $8.25 in switching ownership of 57 stock units. Dolphin Cove popped $4.50 in closing at $29 after 282,838 stocks changed hands, Elite Diagnostic declined 19 cents to $3.30 with the swapping of 18,810 stocks, Express Catering shed 40 cents to end at $5.60 in trading 363,827 shares. Fontana fell 34 cents to close at $11.58 after 946,766 units passed through the market, Fosrich climbed $2.20 in closing at $14.20, with 84,371 stock units crossing the exchange, Future Energy Source gained 27 cents ending at $4.29 after exchanging 2,169,661 units. General Accident dropped 30 cents to $6.20, with 28,152 stocks clearing the market, Iron Rock Insurance increased 31 cents to close at $3.46 trading 156 stock units, ISP Finance rose 49 cents in ending at $30 after 812 shares crossed the market. Jamaican Teas lost 20 cents to end at $4.15 in an exchange of 938,981 units, KLE Group gained 10 cents in closing at $2.80 while exchanging 79,225 shares, Lasco Distributors advanced 17 cents to $3.90 with an exchange of 411,377 stock units. 
Limners and Bards increased 11 cents to $3.45, with 429,479 stocks crossing the market, Mailpac Group rallied 10 cents to end at $3.34 after an exchange of 925,810 stock units, Main Event rose 50 cents in ending at $4.50 trading 194,288 stocks. Paramount Trading dropped 53 cents to close at $1.65, with 9,231 units crossing the market, SSL Venture climbed 25 cents in closing at $1.90 in trading 131,168 shares and Stationery and Office Supplies popped 46 cents to $6.36 in an exchange of 24,137 stock units.
Twenty securities traded against 18 on Friday, with rising and declining stocks ending with five each and 10 ended unchanged.
GraceKennedy ended unchanged at $6.20, with 72,065 shares clearing the market, Guardian Holdings fell 25 cents to close at $29.75 while exchanging 7,635 units, JMMB Group gained 15 cents in closing at $2.50 in trading 424 units. Massy Holdings ended at $106 with the swapping of 26,169 shares, National Enterprises finished at $3.25 after exchanging 1,513 stock units, NCB Financial Group remained at $8 with 341,230 stocks changing hands. One Caribbean Media shed 5 cents to $4.15 with an exchange of 45 stock units, Point Lisas remained at $3.27 in exchanging 65,000 units, Republic Financial Holdings dropped 14 cents in ending at $142.86 after an exchange of 16,765 stocks. Scotiabank finished at $72.01, with 439 shares crossing the exchange, Trinidad & Tobago NGL climbed 47 cents to end at $19.97 in switching ownership of 15,454 shares, Trinidad Cement rose 5 cents in closing at $3.80 with an exchange of 38,019 units. Unilever Caribbean ended unchanged at $16 in exchange of 600 stock units and West Indian Tobacco finished at $26.06 trading 1,082 stocks.
On the surface, the Junior Market has had a full recovery from the 2020 Covid-19 induced collapse that saw the index collapsing from 2,900 points at the end of February to 2,534 points on March 6 and bottoming out at 2,031.79 points on March 18 for a plunge of 39 percent from the start of 2020, and much more after peaking at 3,662 points in mid-August 2019.
While the Junior Market has made great strides since hitting the 2020 low, the same is not the case for the heavily financially weighted Main Market that continues to be mired in depression following the initial sharp fall in March 2020 when the market fell precipitously to 375,091.09 points on the All Jamaican Composite Index from 529,722.22 at the end of February, for a 29.2 percent decline. As o Friday last the market is only up 20 percent from the March 2020 market bottom and 15 percent below the end of February 2020 level, and still well below the all-time high of 584,697.71 it closed on August 8, 2019. The major reason for the prolonged decline is primarily due to falling in stocks such as a Jamaica Stock Exchange, Kingston Wharves, NCB Financial, PanJam Investment, Proven Investments, Palace Amusement, Sagicor Group, Sagicor Select Funds, Scotia Group, Supreme Ventures, Sygnus Credit Investments, Wighton Windfarm. Strong gains in Barita Investments, Grace Kennedy, Caribbean Cement, Caribbean Producers, Salada Foods, Seprod and Radio Jamaica could not negate the effect of the big decliners.
The Main Market showed some bullishness this past week with the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index climbing 6,525.97 points to the highest level since late October last year. More than two thirds of the gains came on Friday helped by gains by heavyweights, Sagicor Group putting on $1, Scotia Group popping $1.60 and Wisynco jumping $2.25 after reporting strong increased profit for the December quarter.
Spur Tree Spices seems to have reached a peak for now but the previously last listed Junior Market stock, Future Energy, gained new life and sprinted to an all-time high of $4.50, no doubt driven by investors’ views that the increased price of gasoline will drive up sales and margins. While sales will rise in dollar terms margin may not. The party was not only for the gasoline supplier, Fontana in the TOP10 for the week ending the 21st of January at $7.40 hit new record highs this week up to $12.49 for an increase of 69 percent in a matter of weeks.
Medical Disposables gained 12 percent this past week to end at $7.55 and exited the Junior Market TOP10 listing, with Elite Diagnostic having traded at a 52 weeks’ high of $4.40 two weeks ago and ended the previous week at $3.73, suffered more losses this past week and is back to the TOP10. In the Main Market, Scotia Group rose nine percent to $37.50 and was replaced in the TOP10 by Jamaica Broilers.
The sharp price movements in the Junior Market over the recent past weeks reduced the potential gains markedly, with the average increase projected for the TOP 10 Junior Market stocks now at 104 percent versus 114 percent last week and is now lower than the Main Market at 128 percent.
The average PE for the JSE Main Market is 16.4 just 16 percent less than the PE of 19 at the end of March and 22 percent below the target of 20 to March this year. The Main Market TOP 10 average PE is 8.9 representing a 46 percent discount to the market and well below the potential of 20. A total of 14 stocks or 30 percent of the market trade at or above a PE of 19, with most over 20, for an average roundabout 25, suggesting that the accepted multiple is between 20 and 25 times current year’s earnings.
As of Friday, the Junior Market is trading smack at a long term resistance level (see orange line)that could result in sideward movement or even a decline, but a number of company results are due over the next two weeks and will influence the market’s direction in the short term, in which case it could break well over the 4,000 mark that it did on Thursday and Friday but failed to hold above it on both occasions after 
Trading ended with six securities changing hands, compared to seven on Thursday with prices of four rising, two declining. The JSE US Denominated Equities Index gained 6.68 points to end at 204.79.
At the close, First Rock Capital USD share rallied half of a cent after ending at 7 US cents in an exchange of 27,000 shares, Margaritaville added 3 cents to close at 18 US cents in trading 118 stock units, Productive Business Solutions rose 16 cents to US$1.16 trading 1,703 stocks. Proven Investments fell 0.8 of a cent in closing at 21.2 US cents after an exchange of 33,587 units, Sygnus Credit Investments USD share dipped 0.1 of a cent to 12.85 US cents, with 9,000 units crossing the market and Transjamaican Highway gained 0.05 of a cent to 0.88 of one US cent with an exchange of 11,431 stocks.
Sagicor Select Financial Fund with 12 percent for 1.55 million units, JMMB Group 7.5% preference share accounted for 9.6 percent with 1.24 million units and Transjamaican Highway, 1.07 million units with 8.3 percent market share.
Mayberry Investments shed $1.09 to settle at $6.11 with 8,258 stocks changing hands, Portland JSX fell $2.08 to end at $6.92 in switching ownership of 10,001 shares, Proven Investments popped 99 cents to $33 with 8,854 units traded. Sagicor Group climbed $1 to $54 in an exchange of 35,143 stock units, Scotia Group advanced $1.60 to $37.60 with 25,221 units crossing the exchange, Seprod rallied $3.10 to $62.10 with the swapping of 24,328 shares. Supreme Ventures gained 30 cents after ending at $18 with 247,772 stock units clearing the market, Sygnus Real Estate Finance advanced $2.70 in closing at $18.20 with an exchange of 780 stocks and Wisynco Group popped $2.25 to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $20 in trading 703,826 shares.
