The volume of stocks trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange picked up moderately on Wednesday, but that was inadequate to stem another sharp fall in the main market indices as several sharp price movement impacted the market.
At the close of market activity, the prices of 8 securities rose, 13 declined, while 8 remained unchanged, with the All Jamaica Composite Index dropping another 5,289.54 points to close at 383,883.07 after falling 3,094.77 points on Tuesday and falling more than 5,400 points on Monday and the JSE Index dived 4,819.37 points to close at 349,760.94.
Trading closed with 29 active securities in the main and US dollar markets, on Wednesday compared to 30 on Tuesday with 3,082,297 units valued at $88,764,558 changing hands compared with 2,572,843 units valued at $35,216,901 being exchanged, on Tuesday.
Main market trading closed with Scotia Group leading with 1,085,516 units, or 35.2 percent of the day’s volume, Ciboney with 518,577 units for 16.8 percent of main market volume and Supreme Ventures with 486,361 units and 15.8 percent of volume traded.
IC bid-offer Indicator|At the end of trading, the Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows just 2 stocks ending with bids higher than the last selling prices and 7 closing with lower offers.
Trading resulted in an average of 114,159 units valued at over $3,287,576, in contrast to 95,290 shares valued at $1,304,330 on Tuesday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 455,927 valued at $2,943,139, compared to 539.060 valued at $2,116,944. October closed, with an average of 290,851 shares, valued $5,213,901, for each security traded.
In the main market activity, Barita Investments lost 50 cents and closed at $20, with 11,900 shares being traded, Caribbean Cement climbed $1 to close at $45 trading of 16,795 shares, Grace Kennedy dropped $2 and ended trading 2,739 shares to close at $55, JMMB Group lost $1 to end at $33, trading 25,600 shares, Jamaica Stock Exchange lost 45 cents in trading 37,505 shares to close at $10, Kingston Wharves lost 95 cents in closing at $75 after trading 7,000 
shares, Mayberry Jamaica Equities traded 47,475 units, fell 20 cents to close at $10.30, PanJam Investments fell 44 cents and ended trading 29,500 shares to close at $61.56, Sagicor Group lost $2 and concluded trading41,540 shares at $37. Scotia Group lost $1.20 to end at $50, trading 1,085,516 units, Seprod gained $2.70 to close at $39 trading a mere 2,963 units, Supreme Ventures lost 50 cents and ended at $17, as 486,361 shares were traded and Sygnus Investments traded 21,338 shares after gaining $1 to end at $12.
Trading in the US dollar market ended with 29,530 units valued at $26,401. At the close of the market,JMMB Group 5.75% percent preference share completed trading of 11,120 to end at $2.05, Proven Investments traded 18,410 units at 20 US cents. The JSE USD Equities Index declined by 1.66 points to close at 162.08.
Junior Market down could slip further
Negative movement in the Junior Market continued on Wednesday with 20 securities changing hands versus 26 on Tuesday, with just 4 stocks rising, 8 declining and 8 remained unchanged leading the Junior Market Index to fall 23.46 points to close at 3,219.22.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading flashed negative sentiments with 7 stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices, while 7 closed with lower offers.
The day’s activity ended with an exchange of 1,116,649 units valued at $4,642,267 compared to 1,035,040 units valued at $4,104,381 on Tuesday.
Trading ended with an average of 55,832 units for an average of $232,113 in contrast to 39,809 units for an average of $157,861 on Tuesday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 136,271 units valued at $644,972 and previously 153,569 units valued at $733,759. October, ended with an average of 69,421 units valued at $347,455 for each security traded.
At the close of trading, AMG Packaging ended with a loss of 2 cents at $1.88, with 1,676 stock units changing hands, CAC 2000 finished market activity at $16, in exchanging 15,000 shares, Caribbean Cream dropped $1 to $5 and ended trading 30,000 shares, Derrimon Trading ended 20 cents higher at $2.80, with 1,526 shares changing hands, Elite Diagnostic closed 18 cents higher at $3.20, with the trading of 14,275 stock units. Eppley settled at $8, with 24,500 units changing hands, Everything Fresh ended trading of 100,000 shares, to close at $1.80, Express Catering traded 8,788 shares in closing at $8, FosRich Group traded 190,099 shares in rising 60 cents to $3.80, General Accident finished trading 1,797 shares with a loss of 25 cents and ending at $3.50. Indies Pharma ended trading of 134,987 shares at $3, 
Jetcon Corporation gained 10 cents to close at $3.85, in exchanging 343,605 stock units, KLE Group finished trading with a loss of 30 cents at $3.50, with 5,560 shares changing hands, Knutsford Express closed at $12, with 13,870 shares trading, Lasco Distributors ended with a loss of 4 cents at $3.95, with 76,656 shares changing hands. Lasco Financial concluded trading with a loss of 3 cents at $5.37, in exchanging 25,570 stock units, Lasco Manufacturing finished with a loss of 2 cents at $3.40, with 1,464 units changing hands, Main Event settled at $6, trading 13,118 shares, SSL Venture Capital traded 57,508 shares at $2 and Stationery and Office finished trading with a loss of 19 cents at $9.01, with 56,650 stock units.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place.
Republic pulled back $2.95 on TTSE
After closing for the Divali holiday on Tuesday, trading resumed on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange on Wednesday with Republic Financial Holdings pulling back $2.95 and ended at $109.05, after exchanging 830 shares while Massy Holding closed with a loss of $1.75.
Market activities ended with 12 securities trading against 11 on Monday, with 2 advancing, 6 declining and 4 remaining unchanged. At the close 57,944 units valued at $1,115,191 compared to 112,893 units valued at $3,207,686, changing hands on Monday.
The Composite Index fell 0.70 points to 1,230.13. The All T&T Index dropped 12.68 points to 1,689.19, while the Cross Listed Index rose 1.57 points to close at 103.77.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading closed with 3 stocks ending with higher bids than the last selling prices and 4 with lower offers.
Stocks to Watch include, a number of companies that are exhibiting bullish tendencies and may be moving higher in the days ahead, the group includes, Republic Holdings, and West Indian Tobacco.
Stocks closing with gains| Grace Kennedy advanced 22 cents and completed trading at $3, with 2,481 stock units changing hands and NCB Financial Group rose 15 cents to finish at $6.15 after exchanging 3,000 shares,
Stocks closing with losses| Guardian Holdings slipped 10 cents to settle at $16.65, exchanging 500 units, Massy Holdings closed with a loss of $1.75 at a 52 weeks’ low of $45 after exchanging 2,200 shares, 
Republic Financial Holdings dropped $2.95 and ended at $107.05, after exchanging 830 shares, Scotiabank concluded trading of 446 units, with a loss of 24 cents at $64.50, Trinidad & Tobago NGL declined by 1 cent and closed at $29.49, after exchanging 16,041 shares and Trinidad Cement slipped 5 cents and ended at $2.60, after trading 500 shares.
Stocks trading with no price change| Ansa Mcal closed at $55.50, with 681 units trading, First Citizens ended trading at $32.65 after exchanging 6,970 shares, JMMB Group concluded trading with a gain of $1.64 after exchanging 12,000 shares, National Enterprises completed trading at $8.51, with 12,295 stock units changing hands,
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place.
Junior Market inched higher on Tuesday
Everything Fresh traded at a new low of $1.60 on Tuesday.
Trading ended on the Junior Market with 26 securities changing hands versus 24 on Monday, with 9 stocks rising, 5 declining and 12 remained unchanged resulting in the Junior Market Index rising 3.20 points to close at 3,242.68.
The day’s activity ended with an exchange of 1,035,040 units valued at $4,104,381 compared to 1,167,494 units valued at $4,279,897 on Monday.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading had 6 stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices, while 4 closed with lower offers.
Trading ended with an average of 39,809 units for an average of $157,861 in contrast to 48,646 units for an average of $178,329 on Monday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 153,569 units valued at $733,759 and previously 197,715 units valued at $957,242. 
October, ended with an average of 69,421 units valued at $347,455 for each security traded.
At the close of trading, AMG Packaging ended trading 2 cents higher at $1.90, with 80,579 stock units changing hands, CAC 2000 finished trading 217 shares at $16, Cargo Handlers settled at $13, in an exchange of 3,235 shares, Caribbean Producers finished trading of 33,061 units at $6, Consolidated Bakeries closed at $2, while exchanging 2,511 shares. Derrimon Trading ended at $2.60, as 39,404 shares changed ownership, Dolphin Cove concluded trading with 208 shares, with a rise of 3 cents to $14.88, Elite Diagnostic ended at $3.02, with 10,000 stock units changing hands, Eppley closed at $8, with 146,800 units changing hands. Everything Fresh lost 19 cents in trading 147,973 shares, to close at $1.80, after trading at an all-time low of $1.60. Express Catering ended trading of 1,900 shares at $8, FosRich Group traded 185,773 shares with a loss of 43 cents to end at $3.20, General Accident finished 25 cents higher at $3.75, trading 10,071 shares, GWest Corporation closed at $1.80, after 10,000 stock units changed owners. 
Honey Bun ended with a loss of 24 cents at $3.90, with 5,600 units changing hands, Jamaican Teas settled at $3.90, exchanging hands 6,489 shares, Knutsford Express closed 20 cents higher at $12, with 120 shares changing hands, Lasco Distributors ended with a loss of 1 cent at $3.99, exchanging 92,520 shares. Lasco Financial concluded trading of 10,377 stock units, after rising 10 cents higher to $5.40, Lasco Manufacturing finished market activity 12 cents higher at $3.42, with 21,150 units changing hands, Main Event settled with a gain of 4 cents at $6, with 7,199 shares changing hands, Medical Disposables ended trading 1,070 shares at $9, Paramount Trading closed 10 cents higher at $2.80, with 200 shares changing hands,SSL Venture Capital traded 83,179 shares at $2 and Stationery and Office traded 35,861 stock units, and rose 20 cents to close at $9.20.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place.
Another big fall for JSE on Tuesday
The volume of stocks trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange slipped further on Tuesday, leading to more stocks falling than rising and resulting in another fall in the market indices.
At the close of market activity, the prices of 9 securities rose, 12 declined, while 9 remained unchanged, with the All Jamaica Composite Index dropping another 3,094.77 points after falling more than 5,400 points on Monday to close at 389,172.61 and the JSE Index diving 2,819.68 points to close at 354,580.31.
Trading closed with 30 active securities in the main and US dollar markets, on Tuesday compared to 33 on Monday with 2,572,843 units valued at $35,216,901 changing hands compared with 1,665,733 units valued at over $37,959,691 being exchanged, on Monday.
Main market trading closed with Victoria Mutual Investments leading with 1,026,110 units, or 39.9 percent of the day’s volume and Wisynco Group with 1,006,114 units and 39.1 percent of volume traded.
IC bid-offer Indicator|At the end of trading, the Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows just 2 stocks ending with bids higher than the last selling prices and 7 closing with lower offers.
Trading resulted in an average of 95,290 units valued at over $1,304,330 in contrast to 57,439 shares valued at $1,308,955 on Monday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 539,060 valued at $2,116,944, compared to 681,700 valued at $2,378,141. October closed, with an average of 290,851 shares, valued $5,213,901, for each security traded.
In the main market activity, Caribbean Cement gained $1 to close at $44 in closing trading of 2,602 shares, Grace Kennedy rose 50 cents and ended trading 17,355 shares to close at $57, JMMB Group gained $1 to end at $34, 
trading 27,735 shares, Kingston Wharves gained 95 cents to close at $75.95 with 4,281 stock units trading, Mayberry Investments lost $1.35 to settle at $10, in exchanging 20,365 units, Mayberry Jamaica Equities traded 17,367 units but fell 75 cents to close at $10.50, NCB Financial Group climbed $1.90 and ended trading 50,470 shares to close at $127, Proven Investments traded 15,000 shares in the Jamaica market and lost $3 to close at $27, Sagicor Group dropped $2.99 to settle at $39, with 29,976 shares, Scotia Group lost 79 cents to end at $51.20, trading 93,113 units, Sterling lost $1.50 to close at $20.50 trading a mere 140 units and Sygnus Investments traded 68,100 shares after falling $1 to end at $11.
Trading in the US dollar market ended with 55,380 units valued at $16,074. At the close of the market,JMMB Group 5.75% percent preference share completed trading of 3,880 and lost 1 cents to end at $2.05, Proven Investments traded 27,500 units at 20 US cents and Sygnus Credit Investments US dollar based ordinary share, traded 24,000 units at 11 US cents. The JSE USD Equities Index closed unchanged at 163.74.
Big fall for JSE on Monday
The volume of stocks trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange declined to very low levels on Monday, leading to more stocks falling than rising and resulting in a big drop in the market indices.
At the close of market activity, the prices of 7 securities rose, 12 declined, while 14 remained unchanged, with the All Jamaica Composite Index dropping 5,472.20 points to 392,267.38 and the JSE Index diving 4,985.79 points to close at 357,399.99. On Friday, the stock exchange released incorrect closing indices which have not been corrected for Friday’s report so far.
Trading closed with 33 active securities in the main and US dollar markets, on Monday compared to 30 on Friday with 1,665,733 units valued at over $37,959,691 changing hands compared with 2,082,014 units valued at $42,778,375 being exchanged, on Friday.
Main market trading closed with JMMB Group 7.5% preference share leading with 370,000 units, or 22 percent of 
the day’s volume, Carreras with 327,902 units and 19.7 percent of volume traded and Sagicor group with 163,681 units with 10 percent of the day’s volume.
IC bid-offer Indicator|At the end of trading, the Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 6 stocks ending with bids higher than the last selling prices and 7 closing with lower offers.
Trading resulted in an average of 57,439 units valued at over $1,308,955, in contrast to 77,112 shares valued at $1,584,384 on Friday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 681,700 valued at $2,378,141, compared to 1,010,856 shares, valued $2,941,894. October closed, with an average of 290,851 shares, valued $5,213,901, for each security traded.
In the main market activity, Barita Investments lost 50 cents and closed trading of 4,433 shares at $19.50, Grace Kennedy lost 50 cents and ended trading 72,236 shares to close at $56.50, Jamaica Broilers traded 14,502 stock units, at $30, after rising 29 cents, Jamaica Producers dropped $3.45 and finished trading of 7,120 units at $24.55, Jamaica Stock Exchange rose 50 cents to close at $10.50, in exchanging 51,733 shares, JMMB Group gained 50 cents
to end at $33, trading 38,544 shares, Kingston Wharves lost 95 cents to close at $75 with 2,792 stock units trading, Mayberry Jamaica Equities traded 26,649 units and rose 75 cents to close at $11.25, NCB Financial Group lost $1.70 and ended trading 33,122 shares to close at $125.10. Portland JSX declined by 50 cents and ended at $8, with 450 units changing hands, Sagicor Group dropped $3.01 to settle at $41.99, with 163,681 shares, Scotia Group lost 50 cents to end at $51.99, trading 116,085 units and Stanley Motta traded 17,000 shares after falling 52 cents to end at $4.48.
Trading in the US dollar market ended with, Margaritaville rose by 1 cent and ended at 25 cents with 100 shares and Productivity Business completed trading 100 shares at 59 cents, Proven Investments traded 100 units at 20 US cents and Sygnus Credit Investments US dollar based ordinary share traded 719 units at 11 US cents. The JSE USD Equities Index rose 0.43 points at 163.82.
Junior Market falls again on Monday
Trading ended on the Junior Market with 24 securities changing hands versus 20 on Friday, with 8 stocks rising, while 7 declined and 9 remained unchanged resulting in the Junior Market Index declining 29.23 points to close at 3,239.48.
The day’s activity ended with an exchange of 1,167,494 units valued at $4,279,897 compared to 10,752,516 units valued at $53,885,826 on Friday.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading had 6 stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices, while 4 closed with lower offers.
Trading ended with an average of 48,646 units for an average of $178,329 in contrast to 537,626 units for an average of $2,694,291 on Friday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 197,715 units valued at 
$957,242 and previously 280,916 units valued at $1,391,984. October ended with an average of 69,421 units valued at $347,455 for each security traded.
At the close of trading, AMG Packaging ended 3 cents higher at $1.88, with 213,003 stock units changing hands, Caribbean Cream traded 2,000 shares at $6, Caribbean Producers finished trading 6,970 units and rose 48 cents to close at $6, Derrimon Trading ended 10 cents higher at $2.60, exchanging 34,596 shares, Eppley settled at $8, with 15,993 units changing hands. Everything Fresh rose 4 cents in trading 10,950 shares, to close at $1.99, Express Catering ended trading 76,081 shares at $8, FosRich Group rose 43 cents to $3.63, with 319,784 shares changing hands, General Accident finished trading 2,500 shares, with a loss of 25 cents at $3.50, Honey Bun ended at $4.14, with 100 units changing hands. Indies Pharma gained 15 cents to close at $3.15 in the exchange of 56,960 shares, 
Iron Rock concluded trading at $5, with 2,000 shares, Jamaican Teas settled with a loss of 19 cents at $3.90, with 16,966 shares changing hands, Jetcon Corporation ended trading 111,887 stock units and rose 4 cents to $3.75 at the close, KLE Group finished trading 13,715 shares with a loss of 10 cents at $3.80. Knutsford Express closed trading at $11.80, with 1,417 shares, Lasco Distributors ended at $4, with 13,218 shares changing hands, Lasco Financial concluded trading of 47,629 stock units 30 cents higher at $5.30, Lasco Manufacturing finished with a loss of 10 cents at $3.30, with 131,207 units changing hands. Main Event settled with a loss of 49 cents at $5.96, with 52,256 shares, Paramount Trading fell 5 cents to $2.70, with 13,878 shares changing hands, SSL Venture Capital traded 16,821 shares at $2, Stationery and Office finished trading with a loss of 20 cents at $9, with 6,950 stock units and tTech ended at $6, with 613 shares changing hands.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place.
Republic jumps $3.39 back at $110 on TTSE
Republic Financial Holdings jumped $3.39 ended at $110, after exchanging 189 shares to $110 on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange on Monday, while Sagicor Financial and Unilever closed at 52 weeks’ lows.
Market activities ended with 12 securities trading against 11 on Friday, with 4 advancing, 4 declining and 4 remaining unchanged. At the close 112,893 units valued at $3,207,686 compared to 111,962 units valued at $1,415,895, changing hands on Friday.
The Composite Index gained 4.70 points to 1,230.91. The All T&T Index rose 9.59 points to 1,701.87, while the Cross Listed Index fell 0.04 points to close at 102.20.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading closed with 4 stocks ending with higher bids than the last selling prices and 3 with lower offers.
Stocks to Watch include, a number of companies that are exhibiting bullish tendencies and may be moving higher in the days ahead, the group includes, Ansa McAl, Grace Kennedy, Republic Holdings, Point Lisas and West Indian Tobacco.
Stocks closing with gains| Apart from Republic, other stocks gaining at the close of trading are, National Enterprises that finished trading with a rise of 2 cents at $8.51, with 2,715 stock units changing hands, One Caribbean Media climbed $1 to $12, after exchanging 1,428 shares and Trinidad & Tobago NGL finished trading after an increase of 1 cent to $29.50, in exchanging 93,891 shares.
Stocks closing with losses| National Flour shed 4 cents and settled at $1.65, with 2,000 units changing hands, Sagicor Financial lost 5 cents and completed trading 2,444 stock units at a 52 weeks’ low of $7.45, Scotiabank ended trading 1 cent lower to close at $64.74, with 2,482 units and Unilever Caribbean concluded trading with a loss of $1 to end at a 52 weeks’ low of $24, with 100 stock units changing hands.
Stocks trading with no price change| Ansa Mcal settled at $55.50, with 306 units traded, Clico Investments completed trading at $20.01, with 2,768 stock units changing hands, First Citizens ended at $32.65, after exchanging 2,735 shares and Guardian Holdings settled at $16.75, with 1,835 units changing hands.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place.
Just one change in IC Top 10
Changes in IC Insider.com Top 10 list were modest for the past week which followed a previous week of volatility.
tTech moved back in price to $6 from $5 and moved out of the Junior Market TOP stocks to be replaced by Caribbean Producers that fell to $6 from $6.80 at the end of the previous week. These were the only movement in and out of the TOP 10.
Investors should keep an eye open for former Top stock, NCB Financial that should be releasing full year results and announcing final dividend for 2018, on Thursday
The main market closed the week with the overall PE slipping to 15.6 from 15.4 from the previous week, the PE of the Junior market moved up to 15.4 from 15.4 at the close of the prior week.
The PE ratio for Junior Market Top 10 stocks average 9.2 and the main market PE is now 9.9.
The TOP 10 stocks now trade at an average discount of 41 percent to the average for the Junior Market Top stocks but it’s a third of what the average PE for the year is likely to be of 20 times earnings. The main market stocks trade at a discount of 37 percent to the overall market.
TOP 10 stocks are likely to deliver the best returns within a 12 months period. Stocks are selected based on projected earnings for each company’s current fiscal year. Based on an assumed PE for each, the likely gains are determined and then ranked, with the stocks with the highest potential 
gains ranked first followed by the rest, in descending order. Potential values will change as stock prices fluctuate and will result in movements of the selection in and out of the lists for most weeks. Earnings per share are revised on an ongoing basis based on new information received that can result in changes in and out of the list as well.
There will be no Market Watch report for this week.
New movie house for Portmore in 2019
Palace Multiplex in Montego Bay.
Palace Amusement is expanding with the re-entry into the rapidly growing Portmore community in 2019. The newest cinema house when complete, will bringing the number of movie houses to four.
The company in its 2018 annual report stated, “we are excited about the offerings of the four screens location to come” in Portmore. In 2004 fiscal year, the Portmore cinema brought in just over $15 million in revenue, with segment profit of $1.2 million. In 2004 the population was around 160,000 persons and with some estimates indicating it could be over the 300,000 region now, as a result, the new cinema could generate revenues of more than $100 million per year, with attendant profit to be added to the existing business. With Portmore so close to Kingston it could result in a switch in some of the existing business to the new one.
The company also stated, “It is our hope, in short order, to introduce laser technology in our cinema projection–which will offer a superior light quality for films. Additionally, we will introduce disposable 3D glasses in some of our locations–in response to customer preference and requests.”
Palace reported it best year ever with the fiscal year to June 2018 annual report states profit after tax of $152 million up from just $33 million for the full year in 2017 and earnings per share of $96.58. Revenues climbed by 17 percent to $1.67 billion that flowed from a 25 percent rise in patronage income at Carib, 27 percent increase at Cineplex and just 11.5 percent in Montego Bay, Multiplex.
Palace share last traded at $1,500 but is on offer at $1,200 without any takers.