For the second consecutive day, Main Market stocks moved ahead of the previous day’s close, with the JSE index surpassing 388,000 points in early on Wednesday, just as it played out on Tuesday, with the market failing to hang to the gains at the close of trading.
At the close, the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index declined by 1,972.21 points to 421,131.86, the JSE Market Index fell 1,936.13 points to 383,725.38 and the JSE Financial Index slid 0.40 points to 104.29. The Main Market has gone seven days without closing with gains in the Indices.
The market closed with 46 securities changing hands in the Main and US dollar markets with prices of 15 stocks advancing, 23 declining and eight securities trading firm. The JSE Main Market activity ended with 40 securities accounting vastly higher volume and value that on Tuesday as 129,075,289 units valued at $205,583,712 crossed the market, in contrast to 33,848,653 units valued at $70,459,639 from 39 securities on Tuesday.
QWI Investments led trading with 91.2 million shares for 70.6 percent of total volume, followed by Wigton Windfarm with 26.4 million units for 20.4 percent of the day’s trade and Trans Jamaican Highway with 6.4 million units for 5 percent market share. Pulse Investments was the only other stock trading more than one million units, as it ended trading with 1.46 million units.
The Market closed with an average of 3,226,882 units valued at $5,139,593 for each security traded, in contrast to 867,914 units valued at an average of $1,806,657 on Tuesday. The average volume and value for the month to date amount to 1,105,053 units valued at $3,825,298 for each security changing hands, compared to 960,218 units valued at $3,728,658 for each security traded. Trading in March resulted in an average of 1,146,245 units valued at $7,550,295 for each security.
IC bid-offer Indicator│ At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows seven stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and four stocks closing with lower offers. The PE ratio of the market ended at 14, while the Main Market ended at 14.4 times 2020/21 earnings.
In the Main Market, Berger Paints lost 50 cents to end at $13.50, in transferring 1,100 units, Caribbean Cement closed at $46.50, with a loss of 50 cents after exchanging 1,315 units, Carreras finished 53 cents lower at $6.20, after trading 194,352 shares. First Rock Capital gained 32 cents swapping 1,680 units and closing at $11, Grace Kennedy shed 65 cents to end at $57.35, with 762,082 shares crossing the exchange, Jamaica Producers climbed $2.78 to $19, with 9,039 stock units changing hands. Jamaica Stock Exchange rose 98 cents to end at $21.98, in trading 81,638 shares, JMMB Group ended at $37.99, with gains of $1.05 and the exchanging 213,440 stock units, MPC Caribbean Clean Energy declined by $29 to $147, in swapping 100 units. NCB Financial Group closed $1.92 higher to $154.93, after transferring 142,312 shares, PanJam Investment gained 58 cents and ended at $74.78, trading 6,709 stock units, Proven Investments closed 50 cents lower to $36, in exchanging 563 shares. Salada Foods fell by $2.05 to $26.95 trading 151 units, Scotia Group lost 41 cents to finish at $45.01, with an exchange of 6,276 stock units, Seprod closed with a loss of 49 cents in transferring 12,903 stock units to finish at $47.50 and Sygnus Credit Investments picked up 50 cents to end at $16.50, with 54,861 shares changing hands.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.