Trading on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange ended on Wednesday with trading in 16 securities against 15 on Tuesday, with 3 advancing, 1 declining and 12 remaining unchanged.
The market ended with 335,799 shares at a value of $3,449,592 compared to 331,441 shares valued at $1,920,957 changing hands on Tuesday. Sagicor Financial dominated trading with 249,178 units hat accounted for 74 percent of the day’s volume.
At close of the market the, Composite Index the Composite Index fell 5.15 points on Wednesday to 1,226.70, the All T&T Index fell 1.60 points to 1,716.61, while the Cross Listed Index fell 1.20 points to close at 99.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows the market continuing to be weak as it closed with 2 stocks ending with higher bids than the last selling prices and 4 with lower offers.
Gains| Guardian Holdings closed with a increase of 5 cents and settled at $15.30, after exchanging 13,626 shares, JMMB Group ended trading with 2 cents and ended at $1.72, with 3,444 stock units changing hands and Sagicor Financial finished 6 cents higher and completed trading at $7.86, with 249,178 units.
Losses| Ansa Mcal traded a mere 8 units with a loss of 56 cents to cloae at a 52 weeks’ low of $59.23.
Firm Traded| Angostura Holdings ended at $15.75, with 25 stock units changing hands, Clico Investments completed trading at $20.20, with 53,275 units, First Caribbean International Bank settled at $8.89, after exchanging 300 shares, First Citizens ended at $35, after exchanging 809 shares, LJ Williams B Share closed at 70 cents, after exchanging 3,304 shares, National Enterprises completed trading at $9.65, with 5,000 units, National Flour settled at $1.80, after exchanging 800 shares, NCB Financial Group concluded trading at $5.05, after exchanging 1,170 shares, Point Lisas completed trading at $3.81, with 100 units, Trinidad & Tobago NGL ended trading at $29, with 3,475 units, Trinidad Cement settled at $2.75, after exchanging 1,200 shares and West Indian Tobacco closed at $88.50, with 85 stock units changing hands.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place.
One stock pulled down TTSE – Wednesday
Junior Market in strong gains – Tuesday
Stationery and Office Supplies traded at a new high on Tuesday.
The Junior Market Index jumped sharply by 37.33 points to close at 2,953.12 in trading on 21 securities changing hands compared to 23 on Monday.
At the close of the market there was the exchange of 1,429,313 units valued at $7,069,102 compared to 9,045,733 units valued at $53,607,772 changing hands on Monday.
At the close of market activities, the prices of 10 securities advanced, 5 declined and 6 remained unchanged leading.
Market activity ended with Stationery and Office closing at a new high of $7.55 after trading at an intraday high of $8 as investors continue to respond positively to the release of strong gains in first quarter profit.
IC bid-offer Indicator|At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 8 stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and 4 with lower offers.
Market activity ended with an average of 68,063 units for an average of $336,624 in contrast to 393,293 units for an average of $2,330,773 on Monday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 115,694 units with an average value of $536,823 and previously 119,914 units with an average value of $554,562. 
April closed with an average of 121,622 units at $506,803, for each security traded.
At the close of the market, AMG Packaging ended at $2, with 6,851 stock units, Blue Power concluded trading at $30, with 1,320 units, Cargo Handlers settled 9 cents higher at $9.84, with 5,480 shares, Caribbean Cream ended trading at $4.80, with 17,500 shares, Caribbean Producers finished trading with a loss of 26 cents at $5.29, with 547,035 units. Consolidated Bakeries closed 5 cents higher at $1.90, with 50,000 shares, Derrimon Trading concluded trading with a loss of 14 cents at $9.50, with 13,509 shares, Elite Diagnostic settled 5 cents higher at $3.25, with 135,689 units, Express Catering traded with a loss of 4 cents at $5.61, with 424,840 shares. FosRich Group finished trading 1 cent higher at $2.31, with 7,787 shares, 
Honey Bun concluded trading with a loss of 10 cents at $4.70, with 3,623 shares, Jetcon Corporation traded 2 cents higher at $4.20, with 1,753 units, KLE Group closed 15 cents higher at $2.50, with 27,499 shares. Lasco Distributors concluded trading 35 cents higher at $4.35, with 10,995 stock units, Lasco Financial finished at $5.44, with 297 units, Lasco Manufacturing settled 19 cents higher at $4.09, with 2,345 shares, Main Event ended trading 16 cents higher at $6.95, with 5,115 shares. Medical Disposables traded at $5, with 10,614 shares, Paramount Trading finished trading with a loss of 9 cents at $3.01, with 116,966 stock units and Stationery and Office closed 5 cents higher at $7.55, with 25,095 units. In the junior market preference segment, Eppley 8.75% settled at $6, with 15,000 shares changing hands.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place.
TTSE close down again – Tuesday
Scotiabank traded at a new 52 weeks’ high of $64.
Trading on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange ended on Tuesday with trading in 15 securities against 15 on Monday, with 3 advancing, 4 declining and 9 remaining unchanged.
The market ended with units 331,441 shares valued at $1,920,957 changing hands, compared to 752,392 shares valued at $6,349,130 trading on Monday.
At close of the market the, Composite Index the Composite Index fell 0.06 points on Tuesday to 1,231.85, the All T&T Index rose 3.56 points to 1,718.21, while the Cross Listed Index fell 0.52 points to close at 100.20.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows the market continuing to be weak as it closed with 3 stocks ending with higher bids than the last selling prices and 5 with lower offers.
Gains| Massy Holdings rose 23 cents and completed trading at $47.50, with 450 stock units changing hands, One Caribbean Media closed with a rise of 1 cent and ended at $12.40, after exchanging 3,600 shares and Scotiabank added 76 cents and concluded trading at a 52 weeks’ high of $64, after exchanging 80 shares.
Losses|Grace Kennedy shares fell 10 cents and settled at $3, with 78,519 units, JMMB Group closed with a loss of 5 cents and completed trading at $1.70, with 110,850 stock units changing hands, LJ Williams B share shed 2 cents and ended at 70 cents, after exchanging 935 shares and NCB Financial Group lost 20 cents and ended at $5.05, after exchanging 61,199 shares.
Firm Traded| Angostura Holdings completed trading at $15.75, with 60 stock units changing hands, Clico Investments settled at $20.20, with 1,278 units, First Citizens ended at $35, after exchanging 10,719 shares, Guardian Holdings concluded at $15.25, after exchanging 20 shares, Republic Financial Holdings completed trading at $101.71, with 1,000 stock units changing hands, Sagicor Financial settled at $7.80, with 58,810 units, Trinidad & Tobago NGL settled at $29, with 3,451 units and West Indian Tobacco completed trading at $88.50, with 450 stock units changing hands.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place.
Profit jumps 80% at Jamaica Stock Exchange
Profit soared 80 percent in the 2018 first quarter for the Jamaica Stock Exchange to, $101 million from $56 million in 2017 on a strong 45 percent jump in revenues.
Revenues rose, to $350 million from $241 billion in 2017 as income from Cess almost doubled to $126 million from $69 million and fee income rose from $134 million to $188 million. Expenses increased a robust 28 percent from $162 million in the March 2017 period to $207 million.
Earnings per share for the quarter is 14 cents compared to 8 cents for the quarter to March last year, suggesting earnings for the full year could be around 60 cents. These results now mean that the stock cannot be considered over valued at 11 time earnings at the last price the stock traded of $7, on the main market of the Exchange.
Gross cash flowbrought in $105 million but growth in receivables of $137 million used up a large portion of the funds generated.
At the end of March, shareholders’ equity stood at $1.04 billion with no borrowings showing on the financial statement. Net current assets ended the period $400 million well over payables of $263 million.
TTSE close down again – Monday
Trading on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange ended on Monday with trading in 15 securities against 14 on Friday, with 3 advancing, 6 declining and 6 remaining unchanged.
The market ended with units 752,392 shares valued at $6,349,130 changing hands, compared to 407,729 units valued at $7,221,428 trading on Friday.
At close of the market the, Composite Index the Composite Index fell 6.68 points on Monday to 1,231.91, the All T&T Index fell 0.58 points to 1,714.65, while the Cross Listed Index fell 0.63 points to close at 102.49. IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows the market continuing to be weak as it closed with 6 stocks ending with higher bids than the last selling prices and 5 with lower offers.
Gains| Clico Investments rose 10 cents and settled at $20.20, with 26,073 units, Republic Financial Holdings closed with a gain of 2 cents and completed trading at $101.71, with 19,096 stock units changing hands and Sagicor Financial gained 5 cents to settle at $7.80, with 226,240 units trading.
Losses|First Caribbean International Bank closed with a loss of 1 cent and concluded trading at $8.89, after exchanging 38,288 shares, Grace Kennedy closed with a loss of 5 cents and settled at $3.10, with 329,493 units, Guardian Holdings shed 5 cents and concluded market activity at $15.25, after exchanging 1,250 shares, NCB Financial Group lost 25 cents and ended at $5.25, exchanging 105,440 shares, Trinidad & Tobago NGL ended trading 5 cents lower and settled at $29, with 1,000 units and West Indian Tobacco concluded trading with a loss of 1 cent at $88.50, with 606 stock units changing hands.
Firm Traded| Angostura Holdings completed trading at $15.75, with 1,300 stock units changing hands, Ansa Merchant concluded the day’s activity at $40, after exchanging 200 shares, First Citizens ended at $35, after exchanging 1,381 shares, JMMB Group completed trading at $1.75, with 275 stock units changing hands, Prestige Holdings concluded trading at $10.15, after with 1,500 shares and Unilever Caribbean ended at $34, after exchanging 250 shares.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place.
Trading up sharply on Junior Market
Trading on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange climbed sharply on top of the pick up on Friday and ended with 23 securities changing hands compared to 30 but with much higher volume.
At the close of the market 9,045,733 units valued at $53,607,772 traded, compared to 2,909,045 units valued at $13,268,308 changing hands on Friday.
At the close of market activities, the prices of 8 securities advanced, 9 declined and 6 remained unchanged leading the Junior Market Index in slipping 8.28 points to close at 2,915.79.
Market activity ended with Stationery and Office jumping to new high of $7.50 following the release of strong gains in first quarter profit, with earnings per share rising 70 percent to 17 cents.
IC bid-offer Indicator|At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 4 stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and 4 with lower offers.
Market activity ended with an average of 393,293 units for an average of $2,330,773 in contrast to 96,968 units for an average of $442,277 on Friday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 119,914 units with an average value of $554,562 and previously 90,532 units with an average value of $363,661. April closed with an average of 121,622 units at $506,803, for each security traded.
At the close of the market, Access Financial jumped $2.80 to $50, with 2,100 shares, AMG Packaging ended at $2, with 140,356 stock units, CAC 2000 gained 50 cents to end at $8.50, with 7,000 shares, Caribbean Cream ended trading at $4.80, with 92,602 shares, Caribbean Producers finished trading with a loss of 5 cents at $5.55, in exchanging 6,404,986 units. Dolphin Cove finished 5 cents higher at $14.50, with 6,150 stock units, Elite Diagnostic settled with a loss of 6 cents at $3.20, trading 56,513 units, Express Catering traded 1 cent higher at $5.65, with 43,200 shares, FosRich Group finished with a loss of 10 cents at $2.30, trading 9,678 shares. General Accident closed 12 cents higher at $3.50, with 50,500 stock units changing hands,
GWest Corporation ended 14 cents higher at $2.30, with 20,000 units, Honey Bun concluded trading 19 cents higher at $4.80, with 2,000 shares, Iron Rock finished with a loss of 5 cents at $2.95, with 755 shares. Jamaican Teas ended trading at $4.50, with 11,031 stock units, Jetcon Corporation traded 8 cents higher at $4.18, with 21,533 units, Key Insurance finished trading at $4, with 3,000 shares, Knutsford Express ended with a loss of 1 cent at $12, exchanging 926,882 shares. Lasco Distributors concluded trading with a loss of 16 cents at $4, after 847,063 stock units changed ownership, Lasco Financial finished with a loss of 1 cent at $5.44, with 72,502 units, Lasco Manufacturing settled with a loss of 5 cents at $3.90, with 15,400 shares, Main Event ended trading with a loss of 21 cents at $6.79, with 34,859 shares, Paramount Trading finished trading at $3.10, with 57,500 stock units and Stationery and Office closed at $7.50, with 220,123 units changing hands.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place.
Sagicor Group & Wisynco back in TOP 10
Salada Foods reported earnings of 78 cents for the half year and is now no 2 on the TOP 10.
Sagicor Group fell out of TOP 10 of main market stocks in the previous week, is back, with the price falling from $42 to $38 and Salada Foods surges to the number 2 spot with half year results.
Wisynco joins the TOP 10 after a very long absence as the price dipped to $10 on Friday. The two new listings replaced Grace Kennedy and PanJam Investment, with the latter jumping to a new 52 weeks’ high of $46.01. In the Junior Market there was only one change with Stationery and Office Supplies (SOS) climbing to a new record high of $7.50 after positing good first quarter results with earnings per share up 70 percent to 17 cents. Lasco Financial moved back into the TOP 10, replacing SOS that still have much more room to grow this year as profits should hit close to $1 per share for the year and investors could well see a stock split as a result of the rising profit and stock price.
Other changes of note, were the fall in price of Berger Paints to $20 from $22 at the end of the previous week, Caribbean Cement moved to $40.05 from $38.60 and Barita Investments rose to $11.50 from $10.49 as selling by investors dried up. 
Second quarter results may not be good enough to push the stock much higher but when the growth in other comprehensive income is factored in, the stocks is still extremely cheap.
On Thursday, a number of company results were released with some having the potential to help prices to move forward. On Friday, more results were released with Salada Foods and tTech posting good gains in profit. Salada earnings suggest full year results of $1.80 per share and pushed the stock to the number 2 choice in the TOP 10. Others will come on Monday and Tuesday, investors should be alert to news that they may provide that could impact prices in the short term.
The main market pulled back from record highs reached at the close of the previous week but is now sitting just below that level on Friday, as that market continues to grind its way slowly upwards ahead of the big breakout that is coming.
At the close of Friday, the average PE ratio for Junior Market Top stocks ended at 6.2 compared to an average PE for the overall main market of 10 based on 2018 estimated earnings. The main market PE is 7.2 for the top stocks, compared to a market average of 13.
IC Insider.com’s TOP 10 stocks now trade at an average discount of 38 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 and main market stocks traded at a discount of 44 percent to the market.
Stocks to Watch this week include, Stationery and Office Supplies that should go higher based on the first quarter results that were released on Thursday. It should be interesting to see how investors treat with the lack of supply of 
Barita and Berger shares while Palace that jumped $300 on Friday could be pushed when the company’s third quarter results are released this coming week that should see very positive impact of the Black Panther movies now still being shown, although less frequently than previously, with Avengers seems to have taken over from it. NCB Financial pulled back to $95 during the past week and should be another interesting stock to watch as it is undervalued. Grace Kennedy posted decent first quarter results that should encourage more buying of the stock and PanJam Investment is very scarce. Increasing interest in Radio Jamaica pushed the price to $1.20 and is another that could move higher during the week.
Profit up 19% at Grace for Q1
Group Chief Executive Officer, Don Wehby.
Grace Kennedy recorded a 5.1 percent increase in revenues to $24.9 billion and a 14.9 percent gain in net profit of $1.3 billion, for the first quarter of 2018.
Profit after minority interest, rose by a stronger 18.5 percent to $1.19 billion, resulting in earnings per share of $1.20. While revenues grew just over 5 percent, expenses climbed by a larger 6.2 percent, resulting in a fall in operating profit, to $712 million from $919 million in 2017. An increase of $277 million in other income and a cut in profit tax by $73 million were factors helping to boost the profit for the period.
Segment results show, improved results for food and trading division with operating results of $699 million versus $624 in 2017, gains for banking and Investments while insurance surged from $82 million in 2017 to $205 million in 2018 but Money transfer fell from $747 million to $664 million.
Don Wehby, Group CEO, noted that the company benefitted from performances of key business lines and new acquisitions and the strides being made in both our Foods and Financial Services segments. ”Our newest acquisitions, Consumer Brands and Gray’s Pepper Products, are a very good fit and are integrating well within the Group,” Wehby said.
The Group adopted the new International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) which became effective in January, this year.
Some of Grace Kennedy’s products.
“IFRS 9 addresses the recognition, classification and measurement of financial instruments while IFRS 15 addresses the recognition of revenue from contracts with customers. The effect of adopting these standards is a reduction in shareholders’ equity at the start of the year of J$0.9 billion, however the impact on the results for the first quarter has not been material,” Frank James said.
The Grace Kennedy Financial Group (GKFG) performed creditably with good growth in revenue driven by the Insurance business while both the Insurance and the Banking and Investments segments grew in pre-tax profits. GK Insurance (Eastern Caribbean) continued its expansion into the Caribbean with operations beginning in Antigua and Barbuda in April.
First Global Bank (FGB) reported growth in pre-tax profit mainly driven by lower cost of funds and lower expenses. The Bank is focusing on expansion through satellite locations branded FG MoneyLink. Four FG MoneyLink branches are in operation in four parishes.
“We consider compliance to be a competitive advantage and we have been working closely with our partner Western Union to ensure our network meets the highest internal and regulatory standards. In the medium-term we will see positive results. We also expect additional growth to come from the new channel WU.com which allows Jamaicans to send funds to 200 countries. Jamaica was the first country in the Latin America and the Caribbean to have this facility,” Wehby said.
Grace said that the Domestic Foods business as well as that of Canada and the USA showed growth, while the UK business had mixed results with decline in sales in the UK market but strong growth buoyed by deepening market penetration in Germany, Spain, Holland and France. New listings in Publix, Save-A-Lot and Stop & Shop stores in the USA and in Walmart in Canada, have helped boost performance in the Food Trading Segment.
Big recovery for JSE main market – Friday
Caribbean Cement jumped $4.45 to close at $40.05
Investors pushed the Jamaica Stock Exchange the market up strongly on Friday and the market recovered a large portion of what was lost since the record high on the previous week.
At the end of market activities, 28 securities traded, compared to 28 on Thursday, in the main and US dollar markets with the price of 10 stocks rising, 8 falling and 10 trading firm. At the close, the All Jamaican Composite Index jumped sharply by 2,341.33 points to 330,728.92 and the JSE Index climbed 2,133.22 points to 301,331.41.
Stocks with major price changes are, Caribbean Cement jumped $4.45 to close at $40.05, JMMB Group jumped $1 to $28, Palace Amusement jumped $300 to $1,300, followed by NCB Financial that dropped $1.25 to $95. PanJam Investment traded at a 52 weeks’ high of $46.01 while Jamaica Broilers and Supreme Ventures traded at intraday highs.
Trading activity resulted in 3,690,667 units valued at $51,637,707 compared to 3,519,415 units valued at $33,476,075 changing hands on Friday.
The major trades for the day are, Wisynco Group with 1,214,450 units and accounting for 32.91 percent of the day’s volume, followed by Victoria Mutual Investments with 723,173 units or 19.59 percent of trades and Ciboney Group with 402,832 units and 10.91 percent of the volume traded.
Trading resulted in an average of 136,691 units valued at an average of $1,912,508 for each security traded. In contrast to 200,047 units for an average of $4,687,155 on Thursday. The average for the month to date is 342,839 shares with a value of $18,119,875 and previously 367,467 shares with a value of $20,307,869. In contrast, April closed with an average of 708,206 shares with a value of $6,395,518 for each security traded.
In the US dollar market, Proven Investments traded 1,000 shares and fell by 3 cents to 20 US cents and the market index ended at down 0.47 points to 164.82 and JMMB Group 5.75% US preference share traded 5,000 units at $2.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 7 stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and none closing with a lower offer.
For more details of market activities see – Big gains for JSE main market – Friday.
Big gains for JSE main market – Friday
Palace jumped $300 back to $1,300 on small volume.
Trading activity was moderate on the main market on Friday, but the market gained much ground to recover a major portion of losses incurred since closing at record high on the previous Friday.
The main market closed with 3,690,667 units valued at $51,637,707 trading from 27 securities changing hands, resulting in 11 securities rising, 5 falling and 9 trading. There were three new intraday highs, with PanJam Investment closing at a new high of $46.01. Jamaica Broilers and Supreme Ventures traded at intraday highs of $22 and $13.50 respectively before pulling back by the close of trading.
The JSE All Jamaican Composite Index jumped 2,341.33 points to 330,728.92 and the JSE Index climbed 2,133.22 points to 301,331.41.
In market activity, Barita Investments rose by 50 cents and closed at $11.50, with 4,564 shares, changing hands, Berger Paints closed at $20 with 6,431 units trading, Carreras lost 20 cents and ended at $10.40, with 75,013 stock units, Caribbean Cement concluded trading at $40.05, after jumping $4.55 with 100,591 units, changing hands, Ciboney Group finished at 11 cents, with 402,832 shares, Grace Kennedy settled at $49, with 16,778 shares. Jamaica Broilers ended trading at $20.80, with 6,639 shares, after trading at an intraday high of $22. Jamaica Producers traded at $16.50, with 17,858 stock units, Jamaica Stock Exchange fell 14 cents and finished trading at $6.86, with 25,000 units, JMMB Group jumped $1 to close at $28, with 69,179 shares. Kingston Properties ended at $6.65, with 4,600 shares, Kingston Wharves concluded trading at $48.61, with 9,370 shares, after declining 29 cents, Mayberry Investments lost 9 cents and finished at $6.21, with 39,950 stock units, NCB Financial Group ended down by $1.25 to $95, with 71,713 shares changing hands, Palace Amusement ended trading after posting a $300 jump to $1,300, with just 104 shares. 
PanJam Investment gained just 1 cent to trade at a 52 weeks’ high of $46.01, with 5,000 shares, Pulse Investments fell 3 cents and closed at $1.75, with 40,150 stock units, Radio Jamaica rose 11 cents and ended at $1.20, with 74,597 units, Sagicor Group lost 26 cents and concluded trading at $38.02, with 31,526 shares. Salada Foods rose 1 cents and finished at $11.26, with 5,000 shares, Scotia Group added just 1 cents to settle at $50.01, with 325,267 shares after dropping $3.98, Seprod rose just 1 cent and ended trading at $35.01, with 2,500 stock units, Supreme Ventures traded at an intraday record high of $13.50 but finished trading up 1 cent at $12.21, with 89,182 shares. Victoria Mutual Investments lost 9 cents to close at $4.30, with 723,173 shares and Wisynco Group fell 30 cents and ended at $10, with 1,214,450 shares. In the main market preference segment, JMMB Group 7.25%concluded trading at $2.10, with 324,200 shares.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place. For more details of market activities, see “Big recovery for JSE main market – Friday.”