Stock prices mainly rose on the Jamaica Stock Exchange Main Market at the end of trading on Wednesday, but declines in the heavily weighted Kingston Wharves, NCB Financial and Scotia Group weighted down on the market index resulting in declines for the major indices.
At the close, the All Jamaican Composite Index declined by 1,470.6 points to 411,963.97, the JSE Main Index fell by 1,333.36 points to 375,927.95 and the JSE Financial Index shed 0.65 points to settle at 98.35.
Trading ended with 44 securities changing hands compared to 45 on Tuesday and ended with the prices of 19 stocks rising, 16 declining and nine remaining unchanged. The PE Ratio of the market averages 15.4 based on the ICInsider.com forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
The market closed after an exchange of 101 percent more shares than on Tuesday, with an exchange of 15,544,884 shares for $85,008,558 compared to 7,742,444 units at $353,173,883 on Tuesday. Wigton Windfarm led trading with 42.9 percent of total volume for 6.67 million shares, followed by Transjamaican Highway with 18 percent or 2.81 million units, Sagicor Select Manufacturing & Distribution Fund with 8.6 percent for 1.34 million and 1834 Investments with 7.5 percent of the overall volume after 1.17 million units changed hands.
Trading ended with an average of 353,293 units changing hands at $1,932,013 for each security, in comparison to an average of 172,054 shares at $7,848,309 on Tuesday. The average trade for the month to date ended at 408,707 units at $4,938,590 for each security, in contrast to 411,824 units at $5,107,758. Trading month to date exceeds by a wide margin of September’s average of 265,170 units at $3,271,625.
At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows eight stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and three with lower offers.
At the close of the market, Barita Investments declined by $4.90 to settle at $86 after trading 299,640 shares, Caribbean Cement climbed $3.50 to $57, in exchanging 7,962 units, Eppley gained 30 cents trading 198 units to close at $19.95. First Rock Capital rose 89 cents to end at $12.89, with an exchange of 11,853 units,
Jamaica Broilers finished $1.49 higher to settle at $27.99, in trading 22,005 stock units, Jamaica Stock Exchange gained 50 cents with an exchange of 11,437 units and closed at $18. JMMB Group shed 45 cents to end at $29.05, with 281,974 shares changing hands, Kingston Wharves fell $2.87 to settle at $44.63, after 3,940 units crossed the market, Margaritaville advanced by $5.56 to a 52 weeks’ high of $42.60, in exchanging 64 units. MPC Caribbean Clean Energy declined by $20 to $148, with a transfer of 100 units, NCB Financial lost $1 in closing at $136, with investors swapping 23,951 stock units, Palace Amusement advanced by $339 to $1,489 in an exchange of just 3 units. Sagicor Group climbed $2.50 to $46.50, trading 13,607 shares, Salada Foods fell $1 to $28, in clearing the market with 1,000 units, Scotia Group lost 70 cents to close at $45.30, in trading 97,053 shares, Seprod rose 89 cents to end at $58, after clearing the market with 159,716 shares and Wisynco Group shed 79 cents to settle at $15.61, with 430,772 shares changing hands.
In the preference segment of the Main Market, Eppley 8.25% advanced $1.45 to $8.45 after an exchange of 235 units and Productive Business Solutions 9.75% climbed $1 to close at $102 trading 5,465 units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
The market closed with 13 securities trading, up from twelve on Tuesday, and closed with one stock advancing, four declining and eight remaining unchanged. Trading ended, with 98,120 shares for $2,086,202 changing hands, compared to 505,169 shares valued $13,850,155 on Tuesday.
Grace Kennedy slipped 14 cents to $3.56, with a transfer of 334 units and NCB Financial Group closed 5 cents lower at $7.95, in trading 31,000 shares.
At the close, the All Jamaican Composite Index advanced by 1,747.97 points to 413,434.57, the Main Index climbed 1,741.93 points to 377,261.31 and the JSE Financial Index gained 0.55 points to settle at 99.00.
The average trade for October to date ended at 411,824 units at $5,107,751 for each security, in contrast to 426,464 units at $4,940,417. Trading month to date exceeds by a wide margin, September’s average of 265,170 units at $3,271,625.
Jamaica Stock Exchange shed 49 cents to settle at $17.50, crossing the market with 37,033 stock units, JMMB Group closed at $29.50, with a loss of 50 cents as investors swapped 33,784 stock units. Key Insurance lost 30 cents to close at $8 trading 32,081 stock units. Kingston Properties lost $1.12 to $6.35, exchanging 4,495 units, Kingston Wharves climbed $2.60 to $47.50, after transferring 20 units. MPC Caribbean Clean Energy jumped $23 to $168, in exchanging two units, Palace Amusement dived $339 to end at $1,150, with 15 units changing hands, Pan Jam Investment fell $1 to $65, with investors swapping 47,299 shares. Portland JSX shed 95 cents to settle at $8.05, in trading 9,500 units. Seprod fell $2.89 to $57.11, trading 115,202 shares and Supreme Ventures gained 33 cents to close at $14.99, exchanging 171,217 shares.
Trading ended, with 505,169 shares for $13,850,155 passing through the market, compared to 59,653 shares at $587,579 on Monday from 12 securities changing hands, down from fifteen on Monday, leading to four stocks advancing, two declining and six remaining unchanged.
Stocks declining│ Clico Investments lost 10 cents trading 409,642 shares to end at $25.20 and Massy Holdings fell by $1 to $58, with a transfer of 36,539 shares.
Trading month to date exceeds by a good margin, September’s average of 265,170 units at $3,271,625.
Jamaica Broilers ended $2.50 lower at $25.50, in exchanging 31,557 stock units, Jamaica Producers fell $1 to $19.60, with 306,847 shares crossing the market. Key Insurance gained 80 cents to close at $8.30, in trading 16,450 stock units, Kingston Wharves ended at $44.90, with gains of 30 cents after 3,273 units crossed the exchange, Mayberry Jamaican Equities shed $1.03 to end at $6.57 trading 26,885 stock units. Palace Amusement climbed $9 to $1,489, after clearing the market with just two units, Pan Jam Investment fell $2 to $66, exchanging 12,374 units, Proven Investments picked up 50 cents to close at $38.50, in exchanging 30,419 shares. Sagicor Group dropped $2.40 to end at $44, with 29,914 shares passing through the market, Salada Foods jumped $9 to $29, in an exchange of 120 units, Scotia Group declined by $2.44 to $46, with investors switching ownership of 24,161 stock units and Seprod gained $1.50 to end at $60, after an exchange of 251,138 shares.
The Main and Junior Markets closed the past week lower than the close of the previous week, with the Main market at a higher level than the third week of July, while the Junior Market continues at the lowest levels since the early summer months. 
Lasco Financial and Elite Diagnostic. 
The focus on all three is on the 2021 fiscal year profit, projected to recover from reduced profit for the 2020 financial year. With expected gains of 151 to 227 percent, the top three Main Market stocks are Berger Paints, followed by JMMB Group and Grace Kennedy. 
The JSE Main Market ended the week, with an overall PE of 16.1 and the Junior Market 12.2, based on ICInsider.com’s projected 2020-21 earnings. The average PE ratio of the Junior Market has been slowly rising, with better profit opportunities than the Main Market and narrowing the gap. The PE ratio for the Junior Market Top 10 stocks average a mere 5.7 at just 47 percent to the Junior Market average. The Main Market TOP 10 stocks trade at a PE of 8.4 or 52 percent of the PE of that market.
IC TOP 10 stocks are likely to deliver the best returns up to March 2021 and ranked in order of potential gains, based on likely gain for each company, taking into account the earnings and PE ratios for the current fiscal year. Expected values will change as stock prices fluctuate and result in movements in and out of the lists for most weeks. Revisions to earnings per share are ongoing, based on receipt of new information.
Trading ended with an average of 1,128,723 units changing hands at $1,601,545 for each security, in comparison to an average of 742,870 shares at $1,384,547 on Thursday. The average trade for the month to date ended at 427,526 units at $5,067,972 for each security,in contrast to 376,667 units at $5,319,395. Trading for the month to date is well above September’s average of 265,170 units at $3,271,625.
Kingston Wharves declined by $3.39 to close at $44.60, with 664 units crossing the exchange, Mayberry Investments shed 58 cents in exchanging 15,208 stock units and closed at $5.42. Mayberry Jamaican Equities ended at $7.60, with gains of $1.10 trading 35,292 shares, MPC Caribbean Clean Energy fell $24 to $145, in an exchange of 96 units, NCB Financial gained 47 cents to settle at $136.50, after the transfer of 19,767 shares. Palace Amusement climbed $10 to $1,480 in trading just one unit, Portland JSX gained 80 cents to close at $9, with 602 stock units crossing the market, Proven Investments lost 62 cents in the exchange of 3,811 units to finish at $38. Sagicor Group closed $2.35 higher at $46.40, with 10,789 stock units changing hands, Salada Foods dropped $6 to $20, trading 5 units, Scotia Group climbed $2.43 to close at $48.44, with an exchange of 1,242 units. Seprod dipped $1.48 to $58.50 in trading 89,547 shares and Sterling Investments gained 47 cents to end at $3.80 in trading 1,000 units.
The average trade for the month to date ended at 376,667 units at $5,319,395 for each security, in contrast to 347,371 units at $5,634,183. Trading month to date is well ahead of September’s average of 265,170 units at $3,271,625.
NCB Financial traded at $136.03, with a loss of 47 cents after 6,827 units passed through the market. Palace Amusement added $20 to close at $1,470 in an exchange of 37 units, Proven Investments settled at $38.62, after losing $1.38 with 14,591 stock units changed hands, Salada Foods gained 90 cents to close at $26, with an exchange of 14,663 stocks. Scotia Group lost 31 cents and ending at $46.01, with 41,370 shares changing hands, Seprod dropped $7 to $59.98, trading 187,632 shares, Sygnus Credit Investments lost 50 cents to close at $18, trading 135,856 units and Wisynco Group gained 60 cents after exchanging 40,127 shares to settle at $16.60.
The market closed with 14 securities trading, similar to Wednesday, and closed with five stocks advancing, three declining and six remaining unchanged. Trading resulted in 552,641 shares for $9,388,509 compared to 199,471 shares valued $8,074,531 on Wednesday.
Stocks declining│First Citizens Bank slipped 50 cents to $44.50, after exchanging 799 units, Guardian Holdings lost 9 cents to finish at $19.10, in transferring 296,363 shares, with a value of $5,663,064 and Grace Kennedy ended at $3.55, with a loss of 5 cents trading 30,000 shares.
At the close, the All Jamaican Composite Index gained 35.98 points to 414,887.27, the Main Index rose 193.22 points to 378,479.15, while the JSE Financial Index shed 0.39 points to settle at 99.58.
Trading ended with an average of 529,366 units at $6,859,271 for each security compared to an average of 99,936 shares at $838,249 on Tuesday. The average trade for October to date ended at 347,371 units at $5,634,183 for each security, in contrast to 332,968 units at $5,537,233. Trading month to date is well up on September’s average of 265,170 units at $3,271,625.
Kingston Properties fell $1.25 to $6.25 after finishing with 3,970 stock units changing hands, Mayberry Jamaican Equities shed 40 cents to close at $7.40, in trading 12,734 stock, MPC Caribbean Clean Energy rose $29 to $169 after trading 100 units. NCB Financial Group declined $1.50 in closing at $136.50, with an exchange of 139,361 shares, Palace Amusement lost $39 and closed at $1,450, trading 15 units, Proven Investments dropped $1.25 to end at $40, in an exchange of 9,400 stock units. Sagicor Group fell $1.79 to $44.11 trading 22,550 shares, Scotia Group dropped $2.18 to $46.32, in trading 3,235 units, Seprod climbed $8.48 to a 52 weeks’ closing high of $66.98 after hitting a new high of $70, with investors swapping 149,833 shares after the company reported a big increase in nine months profit and Supreme Ventures lost 38 cents to end at $14.52, in trading 16,842 stock units.