Trading on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange closed on Tuesday with 20 securities changing hands, 12 advanced, 6 declined and 3 traded firm with 2,495,496 units valued at $13,050,346 compared to 4,968,253 units valued at $16,371,552 on Monday.
The Junior Trading ended with an average of 124,775 units for an average of $652, 517 in contrast to 225,830 units for an average of $744,161 on Monday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 301,663 units valued at $1,553,127 compared to 315,269 units valued at $1,622,404 previously. In contrast, July closed with average of 536,395 units at $1,905,441 for each security traded.
Trading ended with the market sentiments looking mixed for Wednesday’s activity, as 4 stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and 4 with lower offers.
At the close of the market, stocks trading and their last traded prices are: Access Financial closed 5 cents higher and finished at $46.25 with 12,437 shares, 
AMG Packaging climbed 50 cents and ended at $4 with 70,000 shares, Blue Power climbed $1.50 and settled at $41.50 with 30,840 shares, Caribbean Cream rose 70 cents to $6.70 with 50,972 shares, Consolidated Bakeries traded at $2.15 with 106,223 shares, C2W Music gained 5 cents and closed at 43 cents with 10,000 shares, Dolphin Cove added 9 cents and ended at $17.50 with 4,303 shares, Express Catering with a loss of 15 cents, finished at $5.10 with 167,140 shares, General Accident closed at $2.60 with 53,470 shares, Jamaican Teas settled 15 cents higher at $5.15 with 1,753 shares, Jetcon Corporation with a loss of 29 cents, closed at $5.41 with 3,007 shares,
KLE Group ended 5 cents higher at $2.50 with 12,450 shares, Knutsford Express inched 2 cents higher to finish at $14.99 with 5,102 shares, Lasco Distributors lost 20 cents and concluded trading at $6.80 with 98,840 shares, Lasco Financial moved 5 cents higher to $4 with 210,222 shares, Lasco Manufacturing ended 17 cents higher to close at $4.50 with 1,025,000 shares, Main Event with a loss of 17 cents, finished at $4.91 with 11,664 shares, Stationery and Office trimmed 20 cents and finished at $4 with 411,573 shares as some investors move for the exit after a successful public issue and strong gains in the price after listing, tTech jumped $1.44 higher to $7.44 with 190,000 shares and Derrimon Trading preference share, lost 10 cents in traded 20,500 shares at $2.10.
Junior market inched higher on Monday
The majority of Junior Market stocks gained at the close of trading on Monday as 22 securities changing hands. The prices of 9 stocks rose, 7 declined and 6 traded firm, with the market Index rising 7.61 points to end at 3,132.76.
The market closed with 4,968,253 units valued at $16,371,552 changing hands compared to 1,716,953 units valued at $8,024,988 on Friday. KLE Group accounted for 46 percent of trading volume and recently listed Stationery and Office 19 percent.
The Junior Trading ended with an average of 225,830 units for an average of $744,161 in contrast to 85,848 units for an average of $401,249 on Friday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 315,269 units valued at $1,622,404, 
compared to 322,723 units valued at $1,695,591 previously. In contrast, July closed with average of 536,395 units at $1,905,441 for each security traded.
Trading ended with the market sentiments looking mixed for Tuesday’s activity, as 7 stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and 6 with lower offers.
At the close of the market, the last traded prices of stocks trading and the volume of securities changing hands are: AMG Packaging ending with 11,050 shares at $3.50, Blue Power traded 1,757 shares at $40, CAC 2000 finished with 20,800 shares at $7.85, Cargo Handlers lost 50 cents and settled at $10.50 with 15,000 shares, Caribbean Cream dropped 74 cents, to end at $6 with 28,405 stock units, Caribbean Producers rose 1 cent and settled at $3.61 with 116,193 shares, Consolidated Bakeries closed at $2.15 with 626,000 shares, Derrimon Trading added 10 cents and finished trading at $7.10 with 10,800 shares, Dolphin Cove ended with a loss of 9 cents, at $17.41 with 14,197 units, Express Catering closing 2 cents higher to settle at $5.25 with 320,722 shares, Honey Bun ending 20 cents higher at $5 with 5,904 shares,
Jamaican Teas settling at $5 with 55,118 shares, Jetcon Corporation climbing 20 cents higher to $5.70 with 95,850 shares, KLE Group finished trading 2,305,004 shares, 35 cents higher to $2.45, Knutsford Express concluded trading with a loss of 3 cents, traded at $14.97 with just 190 units. Lasco Distributors concluded trading 30 cents higher, to $7 with 206,005 shares, Lasco Financial jumped 55 cents higher to settle at $3.95 with 106,434 shares, Lasco Manufacturing lost 41 cents to finish at $4.33 with 20,206 shares, Main Event inched 8 cents higher to $5.08 with 26,603 shares, Paramount Trading finished at $2.94 with 15,000 shares, Stationery and Office declined 29 cents, to $4.20 with 961,015 shares, Sweet River traded just 863 units at $3.52 and tTech with a loss of 90 cents, settled at $6 with 6,000 shares changing hands.
Advancing Junior stocks edge out decliners
Jamaican Teas one of teh more active stocks on the Junior Market after the company released 9 months results.
Trading closed with 20 securities changing hands, 7 advanced, 5 declined and 8 traded firm with 1,716,953 units valued at $8,024,988 compared to 13,753,371 units valued at $73,391,001 on Thursday.
Trading ended with the Junior Market Index rising 1.89 points to close at 3,125.15. The market closed with an average of 85,848 units at an average of $401,249 trading, in contrast to an average of 687,669 units at an average of $3,669,550 on Thursday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 322,723 units valued at $1,695,591 compared to 309,916 units valued at $1,627,630 previously. In contrast, July closed with average of 536,395 units at $1,905,441 for each security traded.
Trading ended with the market sentiments looking strong for Monday’s activity as 7 stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and 2 with lower offers.
At the close of the market, stocks trading and their last traded price are: AMG Packaging with 21,000 shares at $3.50, Blue Power trading 700 shares at $40, CAC 2000 closed 35 cents higher at $7.85 with 3,000 shares, Caribbean Cream rose 4 cents to $6.74 with 54,000 shares, Caribbean Producers gained 21 cents to end at $3.60 with 32,362 shares, Consolidated Bakeries closed at $2.15 with 22,500 shares, Express Catering inched higher by 3 cents to $5.23 with 158,852 shares, General Accident closed at $2.60 with 11,757 shares, Honey Bun lost 20 cents and closed at $4.80 with 110 shares,
Jamaican Teas closed 5 cents higher at $5.00 with 221,554 shares, after it traded at $5.30 in the morning session. Jetcon Corporation closed 9 cents higher at $5.50 with 95,280 shares, KLE Group closed at $2.10 with 277,000 shares, Knutsford Express closed at $15 with 4,171 shares, Lasco Distributors closed at $6.70 with 6,450 units, Lasco Financial lost 40 cents and ended at $3.40 with 155,500 shares, Lasco Manufacturing climbed 36 cents higher to $4.74 with 7,390 shares, Medical Disposables declined by 10 cents, to $5.20 with 13,000 shares, Paramount Trading closed at $2.94 with 2,872 shares, Stationery and Office Supplies traded 422,213 units with the price sliding 31 cents to $4.49 and tTech ended with a loss of 10 cents, at $6.90 with 207,242 shares changing hands.
89% of trades to 2 Lasco companies
Lasco Manufacturing & Lasco Distributors, combined, traded 89% shares on Thursday.
Two Lasco companies dominated trading on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Thursday, accounting for 89 percent of the volume traded. Lasco Distributors accounted for 4.9 million units and the manufacturing sister company 7.35 million units.
Trading closed with 20 securities changing hands, 5 advanced, 5 declined and 7 traded firm with 13,753,371 units valued at $73,391,001 compared to 28,446,953 shares valued at $130,472,160 on Wednesday when Jamaican Teas traded over 25 million shares. The Junior Market Index rose 10.72 points to close at 3,123.26.
Trading ended with an average of 687,669 units for an average of $3,669,550 in contrast to 1,293,043 units for an average of $5,930,553 on Thursday. 
The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 344,257 units valued at $1,813,259 compared to 309,916 units valued at $1,627,630 previously. In contrast, July closed with average of 536,395 units at $1,905,441 for each security traded.
Trading ended with the market sentiments looking stronger for Friday’s activity as 10 stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and 3 with lower offers.
The volume of stocks changing hands on Thursday and the last traded prices are: Access Financial with 27,855 shares at $46.20, AMG Packaging with 3,100 shares at $3.50, Blue Power losing $1.50 in trading 550 shares at $40, CAC 2000 closing at $7.50 with 1,659 shares, Cargo Handlers closed at $11 with 550 shares, 
Consolidated Bakeries lost 11 cents and ended at $2.15 with 2,000 shares, Dolphin Cove closed at $17.50 with 100 shares, Express Catering closed at $5.20 with 78,372 shares, General Accident closed at $2.60 with 89,694 stock units, Jamaican Teas ended at $4.50 with 793,230 units, Jetcon Corporation closed at $5.41 with 168,148 shares, KLE Group closed at $2.10 with 168,011 shares, Knutsford Express closed at $15 with 2,000 shares, Lasco Distributors exchanged 4,911,909 shares at $6.70, Lasco Financial closed at $3.80 with 6,898 shares after falling 5 cents, Lasco Manufacturing rose 5 cents to $4.38 with 7,352,203 shares, Medical Disposables climbed 30 cents to $5.30 with 165 shares, Paramount Trading rose 9 cents to $2.94 with 10,000 shares, Stationery and Office Supplies traded 122,333 units with the price rising 40 cents to $4.80 and tTech closed at $7 with 14,584 shares.
Is trading IPO issues a good idea?
The question of the week comes from one of IC Insider.com’s readers. “ I’m trying to understand more about investing and would like to know about buying stocks at the IPO price, selling when they go up and then buying when the prices settles lower? Does it make sense to do so?
The answer to the question is yes and no. it can be done but understanding where the stock may top out initially, is going to be the key. You have to determine the price to sell at and then identify when to get back in, as well as where the price may go after reentry. Those targets are not always easy to assess. A good example is Main Event, it went to $5 early after listing and then pulled back a bit and went over $8 and pulled back to $4.85 last Week. Express Catering went over $5 initially and pulled back to $3.80, traded recently at $5.60 and pulling back again. Trading fees can cost up to 5% to get in and out that needs to be factored into the equation of potential trades as well.
Knowing the PE and how the stock compares to others in the market, will help a great deal to determine the likely top for a stock. The use of PE ratio and comparing them with other stocks gives a good indication which stock has a better valuation, but it may not tell when that difference will be eliminated. Currently, just below 20 times current earnings, seems to be a good exit point as the target for IPOs and say 20% or so below could be a good reentry point.
Picking tops and bottoms in markets is not always easy, unless historical records are used in the assessments. This technique is better known as technical analysis where markets or products, in this case stocks, establish set price patterns over time, often trading within what’s called a channel. Channels allow investors to better pick tops and bottoms, while the items is trading within the channel.
Junior market drops again
Jamaican Teas CEO, John Mahfood. The company traded 25m shares. on Wednesday.
Trading on the Junior Market of Jamaica Stock Exchange jumped on Wednesday with Jamaican Teas traded over 25 million shares as one large shareholder reorganized a portion of their holding. A total of 22 securities traded, 9 advanced 5 declined and 8 traded firm.
The Junior Market Index declined by 44.92 points to close at 3,112.54. Trading closed with 8 stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and 4 with lower offers. The Market closed with 28,446,953 shares valued at $130,472,160 trading, compared with 2,187,410 shares valued at $12,791,307 on the previous day.
At the close of the market, the volume of stocks changing hands on Wednesday and the last prices they traded at are: Access Financial with 3,630 shares at $46.20, AMG Packaging closing with 4,624 shares at $3.50, 
CAC 2000 ended 35 cents higher to $7.40 with 46,692 shares, Cargo Handlers gained 30 cents to close at $11 with 1,000 shares, Caribbean Cream closed 80 cents higher at $6.70 with 1,877 shares, Consolidated Bakeries lost 24 cents, to close at $2.26 with 221,280 shares, after the company posted a loss in the June quarter on Lower revenues than in 2016. Derrimon Trading fell 90 cents, to $7 with 800 shares, Dolphin Cove closed at $17.50 with 5,534 shares, Express Catering with a loss of 1 cents, closed at $5.20 with 311,836 shares, General Accident with a loss of 7 cents, closed at $2.60 with 615,796 shares, Honey Bun closed at $5 with 4,500 shares, 
Jamaican Teas moved 25 cents higher to $4.95 with 25,101,325 shares, Jetcon Corporation climbed 20 cents higher to $5.50 with 43,070 shares, KLE Group closed 10 cents higher at $2.10 with 738,400 shares, Knutsford Express closed at $15 with 5,538 shares, Lasco Distributors rose 15 cents while closing at $6.70 with 576,888 shares, Lasco Financial lost 15 cents, and closed at $3.85 with 20,000 shares, Lasco Manufacturing closed at $4.33 with 71,292 shares, Main Event gained 5 cents to $5 with 3,732 shares, Paramount Trading closed at $2.85 with 64,224 shares, Stationery and Office Supplies traded 604,415 units with the price falling 59 cents to $4.40, and tTech rose 20 cents to $7 with 500 shares.
Securities trading jump on Tuesday
Trading in the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange closed on Tuesday with a number of stocks declining out pacing those rising. The volume and value of stocks traded declined compared to that on Monday while the market index closed lower by 38.26 points to 3,157.46.
The Market closed with 2,187,410 shares valued at $12,791,307 trading compared with 5,636,428 valued at $31,083,116 on the previous day. A total of 28 securities traded compared 22 on Monday as 17 stocks declined, 2 advanced and 9 traded firm.
At the close of the market, stocks trading and their last traded price are: 
Access Financial with 35,383 shares trading, closed with a loss of 30 cents to end at $46.20, AMG Packaging closed with 25,000 shares at $3.50, Blue Power had 5,450 units changing hands with fall of 50 cents to $41.50, Cargo Handlers with a loss of 30 cents, closed at $10.70 with 18,817 shares, Caribbean Cream closed with a loss of 84 cents, at $5.90 with 24,346 shares, Caribbean Producers ended 11 lower to $3.39 with 13,000 shares, Consolidated Bakeries lost 12 cents and closed at $2.50 with 1,627 shares, C2W Music closed at 38 cents with 18,237 shares, Derrimon Trading with a loss of 10 cents, closed at $7.90 with 12,065 shares, Dolphin Cove closed at $17.50 with 2,185 shares, Express Catering ended 20 cents higher at $5.30 with 319,964 shares, General Accident closed at $3.30 with 46,866 shares, Honey Bun closed 20 cents higher at $5 with 4,066 shares, Iron Rock closed at $3 with 38,000 shares, Jamaican Teas closed at $4.70 with 7,346 shares, 
Jetcon Corporation with a loss of 1 cent, closed at $5.30 with 176,320 shares, KLE Group closed at $2 with 23,000 shares, Key Insurance with a loss of 5 cents, closed at $3 with 5,000 shares, Knutsford Express closed at $15 with 9,850 shares, Lasco Distributors with a loss of 15 cents, closed at $6.55 with 149,100 shares, Lasco Financial traded at $4 with 54,927 shares, Lasco Manufacturing with a loss of 37 cents, closed at $4.33 with 41,292 shares, Main Event fell 5 cents, and closed at $4.95 with 117,083 shares, with a loss of 5 cents, Medical Disposables closed at $5 with 200,000 shares, after falling 50 cents, Paramount Trading eased 5 cents closed at 5 cents with 47,256 shares, Stationery and Office Supplies traded 725,061 units with the price falling 41 cents to $4.99, Sweet River dipped 3 cents, to $3.52 with 60,169 shares and tTech dropped $1 and closed at $6.80 with 6,000 shares.
Junior market closed higher – Monday
Trading in the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange closed on Monday with a number of stocks rising out pacing those declining 2 to 1. The volume and value of stocks traded declined sharply compared to that on Friday and the market index closed higher.
The Market index surged 45.93 points to close at 3,195.72 as 5,636,428 shares valued at $31,083,116 traded compared with 15,739,900 units valued at $100,160,789 on Friday.
Overall Market activity resulted from trading in 22 stocks, down from 25 on Friday as the market closed with 10 advancing, with Stationery and Office Supplies closing at a new high of $5.40, as the prices of 4 declined and 10 remaining unchanged.
Trading in the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange closed on Monday with a number of stocks advancing out pacing those declining. The volume and value of stocks traded advanced compared to that on Friday and the market index closed higher.
At the close of the market, stocks trading and their last traded price are: Blue Power traded 623 shares and rose 50 cents to end at $42, CAC 2000 fell 45 cents to $7.05 with 5,000 shares, Cargo Handlers closed at $11 with 3,410 shares, Caribbean Cream lost 6 cents and closed at $6.74 with 35,028 shares, Caribbean Flavours climbed 5 cents and ended at $13 with 1,561 shares, Caribbean Producers closed at $3.50 with 18,367 shares, Consolidated Bakeries closed at $2.62 with 70,000 shares, Express Catering closed at $5.10 with 3,590,526 shares after falling 40 cents, General Accident climbed 30 cents to $3.30 with 8,000 shares, Honey Bun rose 30 cents to closed at $4.80 with 13,899 shares, 
Jamaican Teas closed at $4.70 having gained 10 cents with 40,871 shares, Jetcon Corporation closed 11 cents higher at $5.31 with 31,932 shares, KLE Group closed at $2 with 130,557 shares, Knutsford Express closed at $15 with 30,955 shares, Lasco Distributors traded 225,541 shares at $6.70, Lasco Financial closed at $4 with 25,254 shares, Lasco Manufacturing closed 20 cents higher at $4.70 with 2,715 shares, Main Event closed at $5 with 1,670 shares, Medical Disposables gained 25 cents and closed at $5.50 with 35,000 shares, Paramount Trading added 25 cents to close at $2.90 with 35,000 shares Stationery and Office Supplies traded 1,290,789 units as the price climbed to a new closing high of $5.40 after rising 32 cents, earlier in trading the stock went as high as $6 before pulling back ahead of the close and tTech fell 25 cents to $7.80 with 39,730 shares.
Cable & Wireless leads stocks to watch
Cable & Wireless Head quarters.
Cable & Wireless is possibly the main stock to watch for the coming week with the company returning to profitability in the June quarter.
The company lost several billion dollars for many years but posted a profit of $222 million in the latest quarter on an 11 percent surge in revenues. Subsequent to the close of the quarter, Cable and Wireless increased rates on a series of services that should add to revenues and profits in the coming quarters. Profit for the full year to December should end positively, thus wiping out the $311 million loss for the first half of the year after tax and a lower pretax loss of just $199 million. The recent turn around in the fortune of the company is likely to be a big surprise to many investors and will help move the stock price much higher than the $1.07 it closed at, on Friday.
Other stocks that investors should keep an eye on this week include, Barita Investments with an announced take over offer on the table, JMMB Group, Stationery & Office Supplies that just listed and selling below potential, NCB Financial with limited supply, Jetcon Corporation with profit doubling for the half year leading to strong buying in the past week and recently listed Express Catering with demand to buy 765,925 shares at $5.50.
Junior Market climbs 54 points Tuesday
Trading in the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange closed on Tuesday with a number of stocks advancing, out pacing those declining.
The volume and value of stocks traded climbed compared to that on Friday with the market index closing sharply higher.
The market index jumped 53.71 points to close at 3,161.90, as 23 securities traded, up from 19 on Friday with 10 stocks advancing, 5 declining and 8 traded firm. Trading closed with 7 stocks with bids higher than the last traded prices and 1 closing with a lower offer.
At the close 7,982,375 units value at $43,352,441 traded, compared with 1,948,274 valued at $10,702,346 passing through the market on the previous trading day. Trading was boosted by Express Catering with more than 6.6 million units changing hands.
Trading ended trading with an average of 347,060 units for an average of $1,884,889 in contrast to 102,541 units for an average of $563,281 on Friday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 147,562 units valued at $787,949 compared to 81,062 units valued at $422,302 previously. In contrast, July closed with average of 536,395 units at $1,905,441 for each security traded.
The volume of stocks trading and their last traded prices at the close are: AMG Packaging closing at $3.75 with 3,051 units changing hands, Blue Power dived $2.50 to close at $41.50 with 1,080 units changing hands, CAC 2000 closed at $7.50 with 341 shares, Caribbean Flavours closed at $11 with 1,500 shares, Caribbean Producers closed 5 cents higher at $3.50 with 5,100 shares, Consolidated Bakeries closed at $2.62 with 300 shares, Derrimon Trading ended 25 cents higher to close at $8 with 2,400 shares, 
Dolphin Cove rose $2 to close at $20 with 2,700 shares, Express Catering traded at a new high during the day at $5.57 but closed $1 lower for the day at $4.30 with 6,676,605 shares, General Accident rose 5 cents and closed at $2.90 with 4,517 shares, Honey Bun gained 5 cents to close at $5.55 with 2,500 units, Jamaican Teas lost 24 cents and closed at $4.51 with 6,871 shares, Jetcon Corporation rose 30 cents to close at $5.60 with 948,848 shares, as investors responded positively to the company’s six month results. KLE Group closed at $2 with 2,725 shares, Knutsford Express traded 11,598 shares at $15, Lasco Distributors closed 10 cents higher at $6.70 with 105,467 shares, Lasco Financial closed at $4 with 75,829 units, Lasco Manufacturing gained 7 cents to $4.40 with 21,104 shares, Main Event closed down by 5 cents at $4.85 with 24,040 shares, Medical Disposables closed at $5.50 with 42,269 shares, tTech climbed $1.50 higher to close at $9.50 with 6,500 stock units, Derrimon Trading preference share closed at $2.10 with 17,030 units and Eppley 10% preference share ended at $6.60 with 20,000 units after falling 1 cent.
