Trading levels rose sharply on the Main Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Monday with 2,407,626 units valued at just $18,652,792 changing hands, compared to 8,083,593 units valued at $186,825,752 changing hands on Friday.
The main market closed with just 27 securities changing hands, of which 9 rose, 13 declined and 5 traded firm leading to the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index fell 763.81 points to 320,289.16 and the JSE Index declined by 695.92 points to 291,819.62.
In market activity, Berger Paints added 10 cents to end at $18, with 74,122 stock units trading, Carreras fell 10 cents and concluded trading at $10.80 with 11,218 units, Caribbean Cement lost 3 cents and finished trading at $35.77 with 2,291 shares, Ciboney Group settled 12 cents trading 1,349,330 shares, Grace Kennedy ended trading at $48, with 2,181 shares. Jamaica Broilers rose 25 cents and closed trading at $20.50 with 1,035 stock units, Jamaica Producers finished trading losing 19 cents to end at $15.80, with 4,312 units, Jamaica Stock Exchange gained 50 cents and closed at $7, with 1,000 shares, JMMB Group lost 50 cents to end at $27, with 16,603 shares. Kingston Properties lost 20 cents and concluded trading at $5.25, with 3,727 shares, Mayberry Investments shed 25 cents and settled at $6, with 8,063 units, NCB Financial Group ended trading losing $1.08 to $95.50 with 18,081 shares, 1834 Investments traded at $1.19 with 16,986 shares after slipping 1 cent. PanJam Investment closed 50 cents lower at $41.50 with 3,960 stock units, Portland JSX ended at $8.01 with a loss of 49 cents after trading 15,883 units,
Radio Jamaica rose 4 cents and finished at $1.09 with 45,943 shares, Sagicor Group gained 1 cent and settled at $37.56 with 77,870 shares and Sagicor Real Estate Fund fell 50 cents to $14.50 with 13,983 shares. Salada Foods added 10 cents and ended trading at $11.20 with 2,940 stock units, Scotia Group traded 164,153 units, rising 5 cents to $50.20 in the process, Seprod fell 10 cents and finished trading at $35.40 with 118 shares, Supreme Ventures ended at $11.65 with 10,500 shares after losing 5 cents, Victoria Mutual Investments rose 5 cents and concluded trading at $4.20, with 191,987 stock units and Wisynco Group rose 27 cents and ended at $10.48 with 119,419 units trading. In the main market preference segment, JMMB Group 7.25% finished trading at $1.50, with 100 units and JMMB Group 7.5% closed at $1, with 240,686 shares changing hands.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place. For more details of market activities, see “Modest fall for JSE major – Monday .”
Standoff for TOP 10 stocks
Berger Paints annual report had some good news for investors to digest.
The up and down nature of the markets this past week left most stocks fairly stable resulting in no new entrant to the TOP 10 list of stocks on the Jamaican Stock Exchange.
The past week got greeted by a series of company results that were not inspiring with most reporting lower profits for the first quarter this year. On a positive note, most of the results were affected by increased cost resulting from expansion ahead of full flow of new income from the expanded facilities.
Companies affected include recently listed Elite Diagnostic, Paramount Trading and Knutsford Express.
Berger Paints released their annual report that was filled with some good talk of going after market share, new product lines to be added and upgrading of equipment to increase efficiency.
“The outlook for 2018 and beyond is extremely positive. The Berger brand remains strong and continues to dominate the local market with strong brand equity and a reputation for quality. With GDP projected to grow by at least 1.5% in 2018, construction activity and the demand for coatings is expected to remain relatively strong for the next two to three years. Plans are already being implemented to expand the company’s local distribution and product range as well as to improve our level of customer service and responsiveness.
In 2018, there will also be greater emphasis on building out exports by targeting new markets in Central America and the Greater CARICOM region,” the Managing Director reported.
For Palace Amusement with the bid at $781 at the close of the week down to $750 the movie Black Panther continues to pull in the crowd after two months of showing and still has two showings per day in all three cinemas, the same as shows that opened during the past week.
Barita Investments rose to close the week at $9.50 as investors sucked out most of the supply under $10. Key Insurance fell to $3 as the company reported that two directors sold shares during the week, while 
JMMB Group gained more ground, as the block out period for insiders to trade in the stock, comes to a close, until after mid May.
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 is 10 based on 2018 estimated earnings. The main market PE remains at 6.5 for the top stocks, compared to a market average of 12.3.
IC Insider.com’s TOP 10 stocks now trade at an average discount of 39 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 47 percent to the market.
JSE major drops 1,553 points – Friday
Trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange main market ended on Friday with the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index dropping 1,552.80 points to 321,052.97 and the JSE Index shedding 1,414.78 points to 292,515.54.
At the close, 23 securities traded, compared to 27 on Thursday and ended with the prices of 10 stocks rising, 6 falling and 7 trading firm, in the main and US dollar markets.
At the close of trading only two stocks closed with sizable changes, with Kingston Wharves falling 99 cents to close at $40 and Scotia Group losing $1.85 to end at $50.15.
Main market activity ended with 8,083,593 units valued at $186,825,752 compared to 4,713,225 units valued at $80,181,699 on Thursday. At the close of trading, Kingston Wharves closed trading with 3,363,504 units accounting for 41.61 percent of trading followed by Jamaica Producers with 2,014,107 units or 24.92 of the day’s volume and Ciboney with 1,258,000 units or 15.56 percent of stocks traded.
Trading resulted in an average of 384,933 shares valued at $8,896,464, for each security traded, compared to 181,278 shares valued at $3,083,912 on Thursday. The average for the month to date is 1,111,701 shares with a value of $5,320,039 and previously 1,175,559 shares with a value of $4,965,770. In contrast, March closed with an average of 626,526 units with an average value at $20,492,207 for each security traded.
The US dollar market closed on Friday with Productivity Business finished trading at 56 US cents after falling 1.23 cents with 500 shares and Proven Investments closed trading with 25,000 units valued at $5,280 and closed at 20 US cents. Trading ended with a fall of 1.13 points of the market index to 162.84.
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 5 with a lower offers.
For more details of market activities see – Trading jumps on JSE main market – Friday.
Daily Trading, Jamaican Stocks, Jamaica Stock Exchange,Trading Activity, Emerging markets, Proven Investments, , Ciboney, Jamaica Broilers, Grace Kennedy, Scotia Group,
Trading jumps on JSE main market – Friday
Trading levels rose sharply on the Main Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Friday with 8,083,593 units valued at $186,825,752 changing hands, compared to 4,713,225 units valued at $80,181,699 changing hands on Thursday.
The main market closed with 21 securities changing hands, the same as on Thursday of which 10 rose, 5 declined and 6 traded firm leading to the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index dived by 1,552.80 points to 321,052.97. The JSE Index dropped 1,414.78 points to 292,515.54 on Friday.
In market activity, Berger Paints ended with a loss of 30 cents at $17.90, with 3,073 stock units, Carreras concluded trading 30 cents higher at $10.90, with 219,500 units, Caribbean Cement finished 30 cents higher at $35.80, with 26,800 shares, Ciboney Group gained 1 cent to end at 12 cents, with 1,258,000 shares trading, Grace Kennedy ended trading at $48, with 24,135 shares. Jamaica Broilers traded with a loss of 25 cents at $20.25, with 46,838 stock units, Jamaica Producers finished trading 58 cents higher at $15.99, with 2,014,107 units, Jamaica Stock Exchange closed at $6.50, with 56,585 shares, JMMB Group ended 50 cents higher at $27.50, with 31,989 shares. Kingston Properties concluded trading with a loss of 35 cents at 52 weeks’ low of $5.45, with 12,000 shares, Kingston Wharves finished 99 cents higher at $40, with 3,363,504 stock units, NCB Financial Group ended trading gaining 6 cents to end at $96.58, with 41,945 shares, 
PanJam Investment closed at $42, with 981 stock units. Sagicor Group settled with a loss of 5 cents at $37.55, with 71,388 shares and Sagicor Real Estate Fund settled at $15, with 53,000 shares. Scotia Group traded with a loss of 1.85 cents at $50.15, with 113,898 units, Supreme Ventures ended 17 cents higher at $11.70, with 122,713 shares, Victoria Mutual Investments concluded trading 5 cents higher at $4.15, with 95,150 stock units and Wisynco Group finished 6 cents higher at $10.21, with 41,525 units. In the main market preference segment, Jamaica Money Market 7.5% fell 5 cents to $1.90, with 466,462 stock units and Proven Investments 8.25% settled at $5.15, with 20,000 units changing hands.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place. For more details of market activities, see “JSE major falls 1,553 points – Friday.”
Junior Market retreats – Friday
The Junior Market declined by 4.35 points to close at 2,955.66 on Friday after only 5 securities advanced, 9 declined and 5 remained unchanged.
At the close of market activities, 19 securities changed hands compared 23 securities changing hands on Thursday. Trading ended with an exchange of 1,167,347 units valued at $4,190,359 compared with 2,784,726 units valued at $12,698,406.
Market activity ended with an average of 61,439 units for an average of $220,545 compared to an average of 121,075 units for an average of $552,105 on Thursday. The average volume and value for the month to date, amounts to 156,870 units at $634,740 compared to 167,926 units at $682,726 on the prior trading day. March closed with an average of 149,999 units valued at $623,819, for each security traded.
IC bid-offer Indicator|At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows just 4 stocks ending with bids higher than the last selling prices and 9 with lower offers, suggesting continuation of fluidity in price changes.
At the close of the market, AMG Packaging ended trading with a loss of 10 cents at $2, with 286,794 stock units changing hands, Caribbean Producers declined by 10 cents to $5.50, with 2,908 units, Consolidated Bakeries closed at $2, with 9,542 shares, Derrimon Trading climbed 41 cents to close at $8.93, with 25,100 shares trading, Elite Diagnostic settled with a loss of 9 cents at $3.39, while exchanging 384,979 units. Express Catering closed at $5.30, with 1,000 shares changing hands, FosRich Group finished trading with a loss of 3 cents at $2.40, with 70,133 shares, General Accident closed at $3, with 5,000 stock units, Honey Bun concluded trading 15 cents higher at $4.75, with 12,000 shares. Iron Rock finished at $3, with 50,000 shares, ISP Finance settled at $15, with 24,179 shares, 
Jetcon Corporation traded 4 cents higher at $4.15, with 41,580 units, Knutsford Express ended with a loss of 40 cents at $14, trading 3,959 shares. Lasco Distributors settled $4.05 higher at $4.05, with 84,500 shares, changing hands, Lasco Financial concluded trading with a loss of 20 cents at $5.30, with 2,289 stock units, Lasco Manufacturing finished with a loss of 2 cents at $4, exchanging 86,615 units, Paramount Trading traded 5 cents higher at $3.10, with 24,350 shares, Stationery and Office rose 2 cents to $5.52, with 41,800 stock units and tTech ended with a loss of 5 cents at $5.75, with 10,619 shares changing hands.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place.
Bears have upper hand on TTSE
The bearishness continues on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange with decline in all three indices on Friday, with closing as indicators continue to point to more losses ahead.
On Friday, the number of securities traded slipped to 12 against 13 on Thursday as the market closed with 3 stocks advancing, 5 declining and 4 remaining unchanged. Trading ended with 159,389 shares at a value of $998,772 compared to 284,392 shares valued $2,181,738 on Thursday.
At close of the market the, Composite Index declined 0.89 points on Friday to 1,245.44, the All T&T Index lost 0.26 points to 1,697.20, while the Cross Listed Index shed 0.21 points to close at 106.95.
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 only 3 stocks ending with bids higher than the last selling prices and 6 with lower offers, an indication of the continuation of a weak market currently.
Gains| JMMB Group concluded trading 4 cents higher and ended trading at $1.90, with 3,000 stock units changing hands, LJ Williams B share added 1 cent and ended at 71 cents, after exchanging 1,000 shares and Trinidad & Tobago NGL increased 10 cents to end at $27.45, after exchanging 3,035 shares.
Losses| First Citizens fell 3 cents and ended at $32.52, after exchanging 1,298 shares, Guardian Holdings closed with a loss of 20 cents at $15.65, after 3,922 shares changing hands, NCB Financial Group shed 5 cents and ended at $5.94, trading 30,158 shares, One Caribbean Media lost 1 cent and completed trading at a 52 weeks low of $12.43, with 5,000 stock units changing hands and Sagicor Financial ended trading 5 cents lower and settled at $7.80, with 3,000 units.
Firm Traded| First Caribbean International Bank finished trading at $9, after exchanging 100 shares, Grace Kennedy settled at $3.15, with 106,000 units, Prestige Holdings concluded market activity at $10.01, after exchanging 949 shares and Republic Financial Holdings completed trading at $101.65, with 1,927 stock units changing hands.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place.
JSE major shed 1840 points – Thursday
Trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange main market ended with the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index fell by 1,840.39 points to 322,605.77 on Thursday. The JSE Index declined by 1,676.81 points to 293,930.32.
At the close, 27 securities traded, compared to 27 on Wednesday and ended with the prices of 14 stocks rising, 10 falling and 3 trading firm, in the main and US dollar markets.
At the close of trading, JMMB Group rose 98 cents to end at $27, Kingston Wharves fell 99 cents to $39.01 and PanJam Investment traded with a loss of $1 at $42.
Main market activity ended with 4,713,225 units valued at $80,181,699 compared to 22,695,573 units valued at over $68,289,795 on Wednesday. At the close of trading, Wisynco Group ended with 1,679,654 units and 35.64 percent of trading, followed by Supreme Ventures with 804,931 units changing hands for 17.08 percent of the day’s volume and Jamaica Broilers with 417,859 shares and 8.87 percent of stocks traded.
Trading resulted in an average of 181,278 shares valued at $3,083,912, for each security traded, compared to 872,907 shares valued at $2,626,531 on Wednesday. The average for the month to date, is 1,175,559 shares with a value of $4,965,770 and previously 1,296,927 shares with a value of $5,228,826. In contrast, March closed with an average of 626,526 units with an average value at $20,492,207 for each security traded.
The US dollar market closed on Thursday with Proven Investments trading 65,000 units valued at $13,000 and closed at 20 US cents. Trading ended with the market index unchanged at 163.97.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 8 stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and 6 with a lower offers.
For more details of market activities see – Cable & Wireless leaves JSE – Thursday.
More slippage for TTSE
The Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange continues to be bearish with no support coming from the majority of companies reporting lower profits. The market ended on Thursday with all indices declining, with indicators pointing to more losses ahead.
On Thursday, the number of securities traded rose 38 percent to 18 against 13 on Wednesday and the market closed with 5 stocks advancing, 5 declining and 8 remaining unchanged. Trading ended with 284,392 shares at a value of $2,181,738, compared to 404,907 shares on Wednesday valued at $2,835,805.
At close of the market the, Composite Index declined 8.75 points on Thursday to 1,246.33, the All T&T Index lost 0.42 points to 1,697.46, while the Cross Listed Index shed 2.37 points to close at 107.16.
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 only 3 stocks ending with bids higher than the last selling prices and 5 with lower offers, an indication of the continuation of a weak market currently.
Gains| First Citizens gained 4 cents and concluded at $32.55, after trading 1,561 shares, Sagicor Financial finished trading with 5 cents and completed trading at $7.85, with 43,317 units, Scotiabank closed with an increase of 5 cents and settled at $62.70, after exchanging 500 shares, Trinidad & Tobago NGL ended trading with 5 cents and concluded at $27.35, after 902 shares changed hands and Trinidad Cement closed with a rise of 1 cent and ended at $2.51, with 10,000 stock units changing hands..
Losses| Clico Investments concluded trading with a loss of 5 cents and completed trading at $20.15, with 30,691 units, First Caribbean International Bank traded with a loss of 35 cents at $9, after trading 10,000 shares, Guardian Holdings shares fell 15 cents and settled at $15.85, with 2,000 shares changing hands, National Flour closed with a loss of 4 cents at a 52 weeks’ low of $1.66, having exchanged 13,000 shares and NCB Financial Group shed 11 cents and concluded at $5.99, exchanging 74,674 shares.
National Flour fell to a new 52 weeks’ low.
Firm Traded| Agostini’s concluded trading at $21.06, after exchanging 396 shares, Angostura Holdings ended at $15.72, with 600 stock units changing hands, Grace Kennedy completed trading at $3.15, with 79,013 units, JMMB Group ended at $1.86, with 136 stock units changing hands, National Enterprises completed trading at $9.75, with 1,536 units. One Caribbean Media ended at $12.44, with 13,665 stock units changing hands, Point Lisas completed trading at $3.81, with 2,000 units and Republic Financial Holdings ended at $101.65, as 401 stock units changed hands.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place.
Cable & Wireless leaves JSE – Thursday
C&W was delisted from the JSE at the end of trading on Wednesday
Cable & Wireless was delisted from trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange at the close of the market on Wednesday, ending more than 30 years of trading after it was listed in 1988 as Telecommunication of Jamaica.
Overall trading accounted for 4,713,225 units valued at $80,181,699, compared to 22,695,573 units valued at $68,289,794 changing hands on Thursday.
The main market closed with 26 securities changing hands, the same as on Wednesday of which 14 rose, 9 declined and 3 traded firm leading to the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index dived by 1,840.39 points to 322,605.77. The JSE Index dropped 1,676.81 points to 293,930.32 on Thursday.
In market activity, Barita Investments closed at $9.50, with 5,000 shares, Berger Paints ended at $18.20, with 36,731 stock units, Carreras concluded trading with a loss of 30 cents at $10.60, with 79,983 units, Caribbean Cement finished with a loss of 18 cents at $35.50, with 46,133 shares, Ciboney Group settled with a loss of 4 cents at $0.11, with 100,000 shares. Grace Kennedy ended trading at $48, with 51,258 shares, Jamaica Broilers traded with a loss of 50 cents at $20.50, with 417,859 stock units, Jamaica Producers finished trading 1 cent higher at $15.41, with 89,331 units, Jamaica Stock Exchange closed with a loss of 47 cents at $6.50, with 87,853 shares. JMMB Group ended 98 cents higher at $27, with 44,688 shares, Kingston Properties concluded trading at $5.80, with 2,000 shares, Kingston Wharves finished with a loss of 99 cents at $39.01, with 134,108 stock units, Mayberry Investments settled with a loss of 17 cents at $6.25, with 4,650 units. NCB Financial Group ended trading at $96.52, with 87,672 shares, 1834 Investments traded with a loss of 1 cent at $1.20, with 4,318 shares, PanJam Investment closed with a loss of 1 cent at $42, with 161,331 stock units, Pulse Investments concluded trading with a loss of 17 cents at $1.53, with 149,544 shares. Radio Jamaica finished with a loss of 1 cent at $1.05, with 230,083 shares,
Sagicor Group settled 5 cents higher at $37.60, with 148,536 shares, Sagicor Real Estate Fund settled with a loss of 20 cents at $15, with 47,741 shares changing hands. Scotia Group traded at $52, with 142,073 units, Seprod finished trading with a loss of 25 cents at $35.50, with 14,373 shares. Sterling Investments closed with a loss of 1 cent at $13.89, with 3,500 shares, Supreme Ventures ended with a loss of 17 cents at $11.53, with 804,931 shares, Victoria Mutual Investments concluded trading 10 cents higher at $4.10, with 139,875 stock units and Wisynco Group finished trading with a loss of 35 cents at $10.15, with 1,679,654 units trading.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place. For more details of market activities, see “JSE major shed 1840 points – Thursday.”
Junior Market up again – Thursday
The Junior Market rose 22.26 points to close at 2,960.01 on Thursday after only 5 securities advanced, 11 declined and 7 remained unchanged and two closed at 52 weeks’ high.
At the close of market activities, 23 securities changed hands compared 21 securities changing hands on Wednesday. Trading ended with an exchange of 2,784,726 units valued at $12,698,406 compared with 1,189,225 units valued at $5,195,728.
Market activity ended with an average of 121,075 units for an average of $552,105 compared to an average of 56,630 units for an average of $247,416 on Wednesday. The average volume and value for the month to date, amounts to 167,926 units at $682,726 compared to 175,568 units at $704,033 on the prior trading day. March closed with an average of 149,999 units valued at $623,819, for each security traded.
IC bid-offer Indicator|At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows just 5 stocks ending with bids higher than the last selling prices and 6 with lower offers, suggesting continuation of fluidity in price changes.
At the close of the market, Access Financial closed with a loss of 50 cents at $50, trading 970 shares, AMG Packaging ended 5 cents higher at $2.10, with 63,856 stock units, Caribbean Cream ended trading with a fall of 3 cents at $5.95, with 100 shares, Caribbean Producers jumped $1.09 to close at 52 weeks’ high of $5.60, with 68,696 units changing hands, C2W Music ended at 44 cents, with 12,759 shares. Derrimon Trading concluded trading with a loss of 48 cents at $8.52, with 68,721 shares, Dolphin Cove finished with a loss of 75 cents at $16.50, with 14,582 stock units, Elite Diagnostic settled 4 cents higher at 52 weeks’ high of $3.48, with 88,727 units, Eppley ended trading at $9.60, with 30,000 shares. Express Catering closed trading at $5.30, with 166,499 shares, FosRich Group fell by 12 cents to $2.43, with 48,162 shares, 
General Accident closed at $3, with 23,605 stock units, Honey Bun gained 20 cents and closed at $4.60, with 6,680 shares. ISP Finance settled with a loss of 20 cents at $15, with 45,380 shares trading, Jetcon Corporation traded at $4.11, with 66,330 units, Lasco Distributors traded 1,467,074 stock units and closed with a loss of 9 cents at $4.10, Lasco Financial finished 5 cents higher at $5.50, with 31,228 units. Lasco Manufacturing settled with a loss of 12 cents at $4.02, with 120 shares, Main Event ended trading with a loss of 15 cents at $6.04, in exchange of 102,787 shares, Medical Disposables traded 493 shares at $5.10, Paramount Trading closed with a loss of 3 cents at $3.05, trading 338,558 stock units, Stationery and Office fell 5 cents to $5.50, with 35,200 units and tTech concluded trading at $5.80, with 104,199 shares changing hands.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place.