The Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange, closed with the Composite Index rising 0.04 points to 1,220.73, the All T&T Index added 0.20 points to 1,694.44, while the Cross Listed Index lost 0.02 points to 100.41.
At close, 15 securities changed hands, with the price of 5 rising, 3 declining and 7 remaining unchanged, against 15 trading on Friday.
The market ended trading of 1,615,551 shares valued 8,764,394, compared to 519,519 shares valued $3,980,716, changing hands on Friday. IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading closed with 5 stocks ending with higher bids than the last selling prices and 4 with lower offers. Stocks closing with gains| Ansa Merchant Bank added 2 cents and ended at $38.02, after exchanging 100 shares, Prestige Holdings gained 1 cent and settled at $7.54, with 1,800 units changing hands, Republic Financial Holdings rose 5 cents and ended at 52 weeks high of $103.75, after exchanging 3,715 shares, Trinidad & Tobago NGLclosed with a gain of 2 cents and closed at $29.20, after exchanging 9,743 shares and West Indian Tobacco gained 44 cents and settled at $88.44, trading 23,251 units. Stocks closing with losses| Clico Investments closed with a loss of 1 cent and completed trading at $19.50, with 7,426 stock units changing hands, Massy Holdings closed with a loss of 5 cents and ended at $47, after exchanging 36,376 shares and Trinidad Cement shed 15 cents and ended at $2.75, after trading 1,100 shares. Stocks trading with no price change| Angostura Holdings completed trading at $15.75, with 120 stock units changing hands, Calypso Macro Index Fund traded 2,000 units to close at $15.82,First Citizens closed at $32.65, after exchanging 601 shares, Grace Kennedy completed trading at $2.70, with 1,500,000 stock units changing hands, National Flour settled at $1.60, trading 27,404 units, Sagicor Financial completed trading at $7.70, with 1,900 stock units changing hands while Scotiabank settled at $64.94, trading a mere 15 units. Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place.
The main market of the stock exchange closed the week with two of the highest daily increases in the market index ever, a clear sign that investors want stocks to buy and the supply remains very limited and putting the bulls in control.
The moves last week in the main market and since the start of August has set the stage for several stocks to be on the move this week.
The Junior Market continues to inch forward as it appears that investors are waiting on results. They should get Caribbean Cream this week and that should be a strong set of results as the company benefits from lower raw material cost compared to the first quarter when profits jumped 59 percent.
The indicators point to continued increased interest in the main market stocks with a number of them are high on the list to watch for this week. Stocks of interest this week are Grace Kennedy, Barita Investments,Berger Paints, Mayberry Jamaican Equities, NCB Financial, Wisynco, Caribbean Cream, CAC 2000, Main Event and Stationery and Office Supplies, many of these have limited supplies for sale.
With the average PE of the market now approaching a comfortable 16 times 2018 earnings, stocks valued less than the market average could see increased interest as investors look for bargains. NCB Financial went sideways for around two weeks but bids started building close to the closing prices last week and that could help it move higher this week. Barita had a relatively strong day on Friday with 261,000 shares trading, leaving only a minute amount of 6,200 units on offer at $25.
Caribbean Cream should post big gains in profit in Q2 this week.
Grace Kennedy seems ready to break out of the $60 range as there is no big supply on offer now and during the past week, it traded as high as $75. Caribbean Cement keeps trading between $46 and $50, but there appears no real desire to move the price forward, this one could be negatively affected by foreign exchange losses in the September quarter. Kingston Wharves has always had limited supply, so it could move higher going forward, as can be seen from the big jump on Friday to $83 at 52 times 2018 earnings the valuation is rich. Supply of JMMB Group have dried up and that could create the environment for the price to continue to move higher, it is also one of the lower valued stock in the main market. Investors have gradually sucked out most of the supply of Stationery and Office Supplies, below $10 and the price could move to the $10 level during the course of the week.
An overall view of stocks indicates that the main market continues to be steered higher by an upward sloping support line as well the 45 and 125 day moving averages, lending support just below. The Junior Market that traded recently at an all-time high, is being guided by an upward rising long-term support line and a golden cross. The golden cross is a very strong bullish long-term signal.
Palace hits a new high of $1,500 to be top performer in 2018 so far.
“ Assessment of the market, suggests that 2018 could be a grand year, with overall price gains likely to be in excess of 40 percent”, a quote from IC Insider.com in February, this year.
“Based on projected earnings for 2018, the average PE ratio suggests that main market stocks should grow by 26 percent. Falling interest rates could add another 20 percent to gains during the year, bringing overall gains in excess of 40 percent.”
“Technical readings of the market have the main market heading initially to around 390,000 points or 23 percent ahead of the December close, for the all Jamaica Index, before resistance sets in and then moving much higher, later on’ the IC Insider.com forecast for 2018 stated.
With almost three more months to go, before the year ends, the main market is broken through the 390,000 points mark to be up 31.7 percent for the year to date, there seems no stopping it for now.
The report in February stated that the main market was caught in a wedge formation, trading just below the upper end of channel that can be traced to late 2015. The wedge could hold the market in consolidation mode for a short time, a month or two, before breaking out, most likely to the upside. IC Insider.com projects that many of the main market heavy weights will find it tough to repeat the strong gains they enjoyed in 2017, if that is the case, their impact on the market index is likely to be less than for 2017. Another factor that could make a repeat of 2017 tough, is the movement of interest rates. Last year, Treasury bill rates fell 29 percent from 6.56 percent to 4.83 percent, that level of decline, is unlikely to happen in 2018, even as some of the decline in the latter part of 2017 is yet to be fully reflected in the prices of stocks to date and should positively affect prices in 2018. IC Insider.com is forecasting rates on 182 days Treasury bill hitting 3 percent by the end of the 2018 first quarter. Treasury bill rates in 2018 at 1.7 percent, have fallen more sharply than in 2017.
The original piece stated that “there are a number of other factors at play that are set to impact the market. Increasing employment is taking place with the highest number of persons employed in the country’s history. Attendant with that is the sharp fall in unemployment from more than 16.3 percent in 2013, to just over 10 percent in 2017. The annual net employment is growing around 30,000 persons per year and that could rise as the economy gains steam. This will mean more spending and increased tax collection for government. Alpart resumption of Alumina production is a big positive for the overall economy, for increased government revenues and more demand for local goods and services, some of which are provided by listed companies. The tourism sector is enjoying strong growth, apart from increasing foreign exchange intake for the country, will have direct impact on Jamaica Producers and Sagicor X Fund. Jamaica seems to be going through a construction boom with several new buildings under construction, Caribbean Cement and Berger Paints should benefit considerably from such developments.”
“More listings on the stock market will result in increased fee income for JSE and brokerage houses, from increased trading volumes.”
The TOP 10 stocks include a few surprises while there are others that sit just outside the top stocks that investors may still want to keep a keen eye on. Investors should be looking beyond 2018 as medium term gains beyond 2018 could be strong for stocks that will benefit from current developments, long term.
The TOP 10selection is selling well below the average PE of the Main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange at just over 6.3 versus nearly 12 at the end of 2017.
Barita last traded on the JSE as high as $20 on Friday.
Barita Investments moved more into fee based income and that is working well for them, with sharp growth, while net interest income stagnates. The prospects for continued strong growth in fee income continues with more investors seeking better returns than in the fixed interest market. The company should see a change in ownership soon and that could see a more aggressive approach to management that could optimize returns from exiting business and newer lines. Unrealized gains on investment ought to be factored into its earnings in valuing the stocks and that would boost its value considerably, the market is not paying attention. Berger Paints is set to be a big winner with increasing sales coming from a buoyant construction sector resulting in increased profit and what IC Insider.com expects to be a healthy dose of dividend payments. It could become the next Carreras from a dividend yield standpoint but with growing profits. The company will benefit from lowering of overhead cost which was evident in 2017. Jamaica Broilers continues to grow organically and from new business being acquired. Growth will continue as the Haitian market deliver greater returns form a growing market while the poultry demand in Jamaica continues to grow. Caribbean Cement will benefit from lower operating cost, increased sales and a planned cut in financing of the lease which is said will cut hundreds of millions of dollars out of it cost that could come close to $2 per share per annum. Palace Amusement Company, currently enjoying sell out cinemas with block buster hit, is one of those unusual choices. It enjoys minimal trading but it could surprise on the upside if all goes well. Growth in the economy and increased employment will help to boost patronage going forward and will aid in profit growth as well. JMMB Group put out outstanding Q3 results with a 39 percent increase in profit and strong gains in revenues, auguring well for 2019 outcome.
The growth potential remains strong and investors in the stock will reap rich rewards down the road. Just one stock that requires patience. By the way fees and commission income jumped an impressive 71 percent to $512 million in the quarter and 53 percent in the nine months, over the similar period in 2016 and should continue to do so going forward. Radio Jamaica continues to disappoint with below expected revenues and profit. It could return to favour but needs to generate more income from advertising. This is one to accumulate for a payoff down the road.
The other three stocks, Sterling Investments, Grace Kennedy and Sagicor Group are undervalued and could deliver some decent returns to patient investors.
Below the TOP 10 are strong candidates to deliver decent returns this year and beyond, the list includes NCB Financial that is on a strong growth trajectory and recently listed Wisynco Group that should generate earnings around $1.10 for the 2019 fiscal year that starts in July.
The Jamaica Stock Exchange main market climbed sharply on Friday to a new record high after recording the second highest gain in the market’s history, second only to the 9,823 points rise on Monday, this week.
At the end of trading, All Jamaica Composite Index surged 9,736.35 points to a record close of 416,956.11 and the JSE Index jumped 8,870.92 points to a record close of 379,894.21. IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 11 stocks ending with bids higher than the last selling prices and 3 closing with lower offers, suggesting mostly gains ahead for stocks.
A total of 32 securities traded including 3 in the US dollar market, compared to 29 trading on Thursday with the prices of 15 securities rising, 8 declining and 6 holding firm.
There were 6 securities trading at 52 weeks’ highs during the day, with 4 ending at a 52 weeks’ closing highs Stocks trading at new highs are Kingston Wharves, JMMB Group, NCB Financial Group and Salada Foods, while Radio Jamaica ended at a 52 weeks’ low.
Trading ended with major contraction in trading volume in the main market compared to Thursday’s levels, with 3,405,863 units valued at $88,834,288 changing hands compared to 50,485,890 units valued at $464,344,297 on Thursday.
Trading closed with Mayberry Investments trading 1,114,541 shares and 32.7 percent of the day’s volume with the price closing at $9.11 after falling 24 cents. Sagicor Group accounted for 520,345 shares or 15.3 percent of the day’s volume, followed by Barita Investments with 261,000 shares and 7.7 percent of the volume traded.
Trading resulted in an average of 117,444 units valued at over $3,063,251, in contrast to 1,803,068 shares valued at $16,583,725 on Thursday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 448,288 shares, valued $6,994,366 and previously, 533,195 shares, valued $6,208,222. September closed, with an average of 1,022,243 shares valued $15,752,876, for each security traded.
In the main market activity, Barita Investments gained 30 cents and closed at $18.80, while 261,000 shares were traded up to an intra-day high of $20, Berger Paints climbed 99 cents and ended at $21.99, with 10,142 stock units trading, Jamaica Broilers jumped $4.49 in trading 13,273 stock units stock units at $32.49, JMMB Group climbed $2 and ended at a 52 weeks’ high of $37, trading 26,182 shares, Kingston Wharves jumped $7.90 and finished at a record high of $83, trading 26,042 stock units, Mayberry Investments rose 58 cents to finish at $9, trading 1,114,541 stock units, NCB Financial Group gained $1 trading 232,956 shares to end at a record close of $133.50, Sagicor Real Estate Fund rose $1.50 to $15, trading 190,908 shares, Salada Foods gained 71 cents and ended trading at a 52 weeks’ closing high of $20.71, with 5,941 stock units, after it traded earlier at a high of $23, Scotia Group shed $2 in trading 520,345 units to close at $60, Seprod jumped $2.20 in trading 3,289 shares to close at $49, Stanley Motta lost 75 cents to close at $4.50 with 4,600 shares trading and Supreme Ventures lost $1.20 in trading 83,624 shares to end at $20.50.Trading in the US dollar market closed with 50,772 units valued at $10,647, changing hands. JMMB Group 6% preference share completed trading of 1,800 after inching up by 1 cent to close at $1.07, Proven Investments traded 27,950 shares to close at 23 US cents and Sygnus Credit Investments US dollar based ordinary share, rose 1 cent in trading 21,022 shares to end at 11 US cents. The JSE USD Equities Index gained 0.51 points to 175.15.
The Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange, closed after the Composite Index rose 0.74 points to 1,220.69, the All T&T Index shed 0.73 points to 1,694.24, while the Cross Listed Index added 0.31 points to 110.43.
At close, 15 securities changed hands, with the price of 4 rising, 4 declining and 7 remaining unchanged, against 14 trading on Thursday.
The market ended trading of 519,519 shares valued $3,980,716, compared to 602,213 shares valued $7,388,303, changing hands on Thursday. IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading closed with 5 stocks ending with higher bids than the last selling prices and 4 with lower offers. Republic Financial Holdings closed with the bid at $105 to buy just 15 shares, well above the last traded price of $103.70. Stocks closing with gains| Clico Investments gained 1 cent and ended at $19.51, with 7,758 stock units changing hands, JMMB Group rose 5 cents and closed at $1.70, after exchanging 86,130 shares, Massy Holdings closed with an increase of 5 cents and concluded trading of 2,735 shares at $47.05 and Trinidad & Tobago NGLadded 1 cent and settled at $29.18 with 110 shares changing hands. Stocks closing with losses|First Citizens fell 15 cents and settled at $32.65, after exchanging 435 shares, Guardian Holdings lost 1 cent and completed trading with 1,140 units at $16.89, Sagicor Financial shed 4 cents and ended at $7.70, with 10,857 stock units changing hands and West Indian Tobacco lost 44 cents and completed trading 7,363 units at $88. Stocks trading with no price change| Angostura Holdings completed trading at $15.75, with 114,229 stock units changing hands, Ansa Mcal settled at $57, with an exchange of 1,450 units, Grace Kennedy completed completed trading at $2.70, with 246,995 stock units changing hands, National Flour settled at $1.60, with 29,518 units trading, One Caribbean Media ended at $12.11, after an exchange of 8,700 shares, Scotiabank settled at $64.94, with 750 units and Unilever Caribbean completed trading at $26.25, with 1,349 stock units changing hands.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place.
Gains in Grace Kennedy, Scotia Group, Seprod and NCB Financial were mostly responsible in pushing Jamaica Stock Exchange main market to a new record high in early trading on Friday.
The All Jamaica Composite Index jumped 7,892.89 points to a record 415,112.65 and the JSE Index surged by 7,191.32 points to a record of 378,214.61 points after 41 minutes of opening of the market.
The Junior Market has not participated in the bullishness and slipped 3.76 points to 3,397.17.
The Jamaica Stock Exchange main market climbed to another record high on Thursday but pulled back towards the close, as the price of Scotia Group traded down to $56 and Grace Kennedy falling at the close.
The All Jamaica Composite Index peaked with gain of 3,093.31 points to a record 411,545.91. At the end of trading, All Jamaica Composite Index declined by 1,232.84 points to close at 407,219.76 and the JSE Index dipped 1,123.25 points to 371,023.29. IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 11 stocks ending with bids higher than the last selling prices and 3 closing with lower offers, suggesting mostly gains ahead for stocks.
A total of 29 securities traded including 1 in the US dollar market, compared to 32 trading on Wednesday with the prices of 15 securities rising, 8 declining and 6 holding firm. There were 6 securities trading at 52 weeks’ highs during the day, with 3 ending at a 52 weeks’ closing highs.
The main market ended with 50,485,890 units valued at $464,344,297 compared to 2,630,637 units valued at over $70,273,331 changing hands on Wednesday.
Trading closed with Carreras trading 46,297,844 shares and 91.7 percent of the day’s volume with the price closing at $9.11 after falling 24 cents. JMMB Group accounted for 1,650,000 shares or 3.3 percent of the day’s volume, followed by Ciboney Group with 760,000 shares and 1.5 percent of the volume traded.
Trading resulted in an average of 1,803,068 units valued at over $16,583,725, in contrast to 132,745 shares valued at $3,474,891 on Wednesday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 533,195 shares, valued $6,208,222 and previously, 114,884 shares valued $2,790,409. September closed, with an average of 1,022,243 shares valued $15,752,876, for each security traded.
In the main market activity, Grace Kennedy fell $2 in trading 73,275 shares, to close at $61, after the price hit a record $75 in early trading, Jamaica Broilers dropped $3 in trading 406,744 stock units at $28, JMMB Group climbed $2 and ended at a 52 weeks’ high of $35, trading 50,818 shares, Mayberry Equities rose 41 cents to finish at closing high of $12.01, trading 55,088 stock units, NCB Financial Group rose $2.50 ended trading with 19,709 shares at record close of $132.50, Portland JSX ended at $8.50, with 55,000 units trading after falling 50 cents, Sagicor Group rose 78 cents to end at $40, with 4,149 shares changing hands, Sagicor Real Estate Fund rose 41 cents to $13.50, trading 122,940 shares, Scotia Group added $1 in trading 48,191 units to close at $62 after it fell to $56 in earlier trading, Seprod jumped $3.56 in trading 32,849 shares at $46.80, Sterling Investments declined by $1.99 and closed at $22.01, with 38,149 shares changing hands after trading at an all-time intraday high of $28 and Supreme Ventures rose 70 cents in trading 202,949 shares to end at $21.70 and Wisynco Group lost 25 cents to finish at $9.30, with 246,788 units trading.
Trading in the US dollar market closed Proven Investments being the sole trade with 134,200 shares to close at 23 US cents. The JSE USD Equities Index closed unchanged at 174.64.
Republic Bank traded at a 52 weeks’ high and inching higher.
The Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange, closed with all three main indices rising on Thursday. At the close, the Composite Index rose 1.86 points to 1,219.95, the All T&T Index gained 2.44 points to 1,694.97, while the Cross Listed Index added 0.17 points to 110.12.
At close, 14 securities changed hands, with the price of 5 rising, 2 declining and 7 remaining unchanged, against 14 trading on Wednesday.
The market ended trading of 602,213 shares valued $7,388,303, compared to 194,813 shares valued $1,743,710, changing hands on Wednesday. IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading closed with 6 stocks ending with higher bids than the last selling prices and 4 with lower offers. Stocks closing with gains| JMMB Group gained 5 cents and settled at $1.65, after exchanging 1,958 shares, NCB Financial Group rose by 2 cents and completed trading at $5.75, after exchanging 10,752 shares, Republic Financial Holdings finished trading after an increase by 1 cent to a 52 weeks’ high of $103.70, after exchanging 466 shares, Trinidad & Tobago NGL closed with a gain of 1 cent at $29.17, after exchanging 50,171 shares and West Indian Tobacco finished 44 cents higher and ended at $88.44, with 205 units changing hands. Stocks closing with losses| Clico Investments concluded trading with a loss of 30 cents at $19.50, with 57,592 stock units changing hands and Sagicor Financial traded 9,301 stock units, with a loss of 1 cent at $7.74. Stocks trading with no price change| Ansa Mcal ended at $57, trading 200 units, First Citizens completed trading at $32.80, after exchanging 1,893 shares, Grace Kennedy closed at $2.70, with 244,500 stock units changing hands, Massy Holdings settled at $47, after exchanging 48,084 shares, National Enterprises ended at $8.96, with 173,016 stock units changing hands, One Caribbean Media settled at $12.11, after exchanging 4,000 shares and Scotiabank ended at $64.94, with 75 units changing hands. Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place.
Scotia Group dropped to $56 from $61 close of Wednesday, Grace Kennedy fell to $61 from $63 and from a trade at $75 in early trading and Jamaica Broilers fell to $28 from $31 and pulled the main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange under water, with 45 minutes of trading left for the day.
All the gains earlier in the morning that pushed the market into record territory was given up with the All Jamaica Composite Index pulling back 1,892.60 points from Wednesday’s close, to trade at 406,560 and the JSE Index fell 1,724.38 points to 370,422.16.
Earlier, the All Jamaica Composite Index on Wednesday moved higher by 3,093.31 points to a record 411,545.91.
The main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange broke through 410,000 mark based on movement of the All Jamaica Composite Index in early trading on Wednesday and moved higher by 3,093.31 points to a record 411,545.91.
The JSE Index that jumped to a record 374,251.61 in early trading moved on to 374,964.90 with gains of 2,818.36, The Junior Market rose 19.93 points to 3,401.72. Grace Kennedy raced to an all-time high of $75, NCB Financial moved up to a record of $131, Supreme Ventures climbed to $21.70, JMMB Group jumped to $35 and Mayberry Jamaican Equities traded at $12.
The main market broke through all resistance points, with the last being 400,000 points with the next big one being 510,000 points region. If it got there in 2018, would represent a gain of 24 percent from current levels and lift the gains for the year to 60 percent.
The Jamaica Stock Exchange main market climbed sharply on Friday to a new record high after recording the second highest gain in the market’s history, second only to the 9,823 points rise on Monday, this week. 
trading at new highs are Kingston Wharves, JMMB Group, NCB Financial Group and Salada Foods, while Radio Jamaica ended at a 52 weeks’ low.
Scotia Group shed $2 in trading 520,345 units to close at $60, Seprod jumped $2.20 in trading 3,289 shares to close at $49, Stanley Motta lost 75 cents to close at $4.50 with 4,600 shares trading and Supreme Ventures lost $1.20 in trading 83,624 shares to end at $20.50.Trading in the US dollar market closed with 50,772 units valued at $10,647, changing hands. JMMB Group 6% preference share completed trading of 1,800 after inching up by 1 cent to close at $1.07, Proven Investments traded 27,950 shares to close at 23 US cents and Sygnus Credit Investments US dollar based ordinary share, rose 1 cent in trading 21,022 shares to end at 11 US cents. The JSE USD Equities Index gained 0.51 points to 175.15.
with 1,140 units at $16.89, Sagicor Financial shed 4 cents and ended at $7.70, with 10,857 stock units changing hands and West Indian Tobacco lost 44 cents and completed trading 7,363 units at $88.
Gains in Grace Kennedy, Scotia Group, Seprod and NCB Financial were mostly responsible in pushing Jamaica Stock Exchange main market to a new record high in early trading on Friday.
Scotia Group dropped to $56 from $61 close of Wednesday, Grace Kennedy fell to $61 from $63 and from a trade at $75 in early trading and Jamaica Broilers fell to $28 from $31 and pulled the main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange under water, with 45 minutes of trading left for the day.
