The Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange closed on Tuesday with the worse performance in its ten-year history. The market fell as much as 39.3 percent at one stage during the month and 45 percent from the peak in August last year, to record the worse decline in its history, from the peak to the bottom.
At the close of trading for March, the Junior Market Index climbed 51.34 points to 2,304.14 to claw back 210 points in the last three days of the massive 818 points loss the market suffered on March 26. At the end of the month, the market shed 31 percent for the year to date after declining 21 percent for the month.
Market activities closed with 33 securities changing hands and resulting in the prices of 17 securities advancing, seven declining and nine closing unchanged and 14,255,673 units valued at $34,934,660 crossed the exchange compared to 8,601,172 units valued at $20,333,956 on Monday.
Trading ended with an average of 431,990 units for $1,058,626 for each security traded, in contrast to 232,464 units, for an average of $549,566 on Monday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 226,225 units valued at $542,563 and previously 216,579 units valued at $508,797. Trading in February closed with an average of 167,673 units valued at $488,038 for each security traded.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows nine stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with a lower offer.
At the close of the market, Access Financial jumped $6 to end at $26 after trading 18,818 shares, Cargo Handlers fell 30 cents in trading 400 units at $5.70, Caribbean Assurance Brokers fell 19 cents to end at $2.11 with 86,765 stock unit crossing the market. Caribbean Flavours climbed $1.50 to settle at $10.50, with 60,122 shares changing hands, Caribbean Producers ended market activity exchanging 10,368,364 shares to close at $2.32, after falling 8 cents, Consolidated Bakeries fell 20 cents in trading of 99,000 units at $1.35. Elite Diagnostic rose 20 cents to close at $3.30, with 34,433 stock units changing hands, Everything Fresh climbed 17 cents exchanging 23,015 shares at 77 cents, Express Catering shed 5 cents in trading of 72,781 units at $3.13. Fontana closed 19 cents higher at $4.99, with 758,475 stock units trading, Fosrich ended trading with 19,700 shares, after rising 29 cents to end at $2.89. Honey Bun ended with 43,393 shares changing hands, after gaining 50 cents to close at $6.50, iCreate rose 1 cent and exchanged 400 shares at 51 cents, 
Indies Pharma closed 45 cents higher at $2.45, with 170,125 stock units changing hands, Iron Rock Insurance lost 45 cents in trading 10,658 shares to close at $3. KLE Group picked up 20 cents and exchanged just 880 shares at $1.45, Knutsford Express closed trading of a mere two units and gained 65 cents to end at $8.65. Lasco Financial closed trading of 98,998 units with gains of 40 cents to close at $2.95, Lasco Manufacturing closed trading of 119,295 units, after picking up 28 cents to finish at $3.18. Limners and Bards rose 22 cents and exchanged 131,091 shares at $2.28, Lumber Depot closed 3 cents higher at $1.18, with 21,273 stock units trading. MailPac traded 1,469,821 shares, after rising 9 cents to end at $1.69, Main Event gained 1 cent to close at $4.52, after 700 shares crossed the exchange, Paramount Trading declined by 4 cents to settle at $1.94, with 249 units changing hands.
Prices quoted for trades are those of the last transaction for the trading day.
At the close of the market, Access Financial gained $1.69 to end at $20 with the trading of 40,954 stock shares, AMG Packaging traded 100 units and gained 14 cents to settle at $1.65, Caribbean Cream finished 4 cents higher at $2.80 with 17,624 shares changing hands. Caribbean Producers added 15 cents to close at $2.40 with a market-leading trade of 5,133,280 stock units, Consolidated Bakeries ended with 100 shares traded after rising 9 cents to close at $1.55, Derrimon Trading gained 39 cents to finish at $1.85 in the exchange of 12,500 units. Elite Diagnostic swapped 28,192 stock units and gained 35 cents to settle at $3.10, Everything Fresh ended trading with 45,295 shares after rising 3 cents to 60 cents, Express Catering picked up 18 cents and exchanged 2,110 shares to close at $3.18. Fontana finished 35 cents higher at $4.80 with 263,143 stock units trading, Fosrich advanced 10 cents to $2.60 in the exchange of 4,000 units, General Accident gained $1.22 to end at $5.72, after trading 31 shares. GWest Corporation dipped 5 cents in trading of 788 units at 80 cents, Honey Bun closed 10 cents higher at $6, with an exchange of 14,647 stock units, Indies Pharma swapped 423,719 stock units and added 3 cents to settle at $2. ISP Finance climbed 50 cents to $13.50 with 5,000 stock units changing hands, Jamaican Teas picked up 1 cent and exchanged 122,528 shares at $4, Jetcon Corporation traded 29,000 shares after rising 10 cents to end at $1.10.
Key Insurance closed 30 cents higher at $2.30 with 2,000 stock units trading, Knutsford Express climbed $1 to settle at $8 with 43,905 shares changing hands, Lasco Distributors fell 2 cents in trading of 54,677 units at $2.98. Lasco Manufacturing gained 15 cents and exchanged 272,661 shares at $2.90, Limners and Bards advanced 26 cents in trading 418,392 units to end at $2.06, Lumber Depot concluded market activity exchanging 883,100 shares to close at $1.15 after falling 6 cents. MailPac traded 310,705 shares after rising 10 cents to end at $1.60, Main Event gained 1 cent to settle at $4.51 in the trading of 70,148 shares, Medical Disposables exchanged 8,237 shares after rising 1 cent to $6.51 and Stationery and Office Supplies shed 30 cents to close at $5.70 with 9,938 units crossing the exchange.
The Junior Market Index advanced by 50.32 points to close at 2,144.08 after an exchange of 3,982,260 units accounting for $9,382,200 compared to 4,329,260 units valued at $9,680,619 on Thursday.
At the close of the market, AMG Packaging declined 14 cents in trading of 23,450 units at $1.51, CAC 2000 ended market activity exchanging 3,000 shares to close at $10 after falling $1.40, Caribbean Cream ended trading with 15,433 shares, after rising 65 cents to end at $2.76. Caribbean Flavours ended with a loss of $1 at a 52 weeks’ low of $9 with 1,106 stock units changing hands, Caribbean Producers declined 25 cents in trading 98,606 units at $2.25, Elite Diagnostic climbed 15 cents and exchanged 57,904 shares at $2.75. Everything Fresh closed with a loss of 3 cents at 57 cents in swapping 10,000 shares, Express Catering ended trading with 69,873 shares, after rising 10 cents to end at $3. Fontana closed 20 cents higher at $4.45, with 189,405 stock units changing hands. Fosrich closed 25 cents higher at $2.50, in trading 1,000 stock units, General Accident declined by 5 cents to settle at $4.50 trading 44,789 shares, GWest Corporation closed 13 cents higher at 85 cents, with 9,824 stock units changing hands. Honey Bun ended trading 32,000 shares, after rising 20 cents to close at $5.90, iCreate ended with 19,557 shares crossing the exchange, after rising 5 cents to end at 50 cents. Indies Pharma climbed 47 cents and exchanged 370,612 shares at $1.97, Iron Rock Insurance climbed 45 cents to $3.45, in swapping 1,000 units, ISP Finance lost $1 to close at $13 with 5,000 stock units changing hands. 
Jamaican Teas gained 6 cents and exchanged 16,160 shares at $3.99, Knutsford Express gained $1 to end at $7, with 1,740 stock units trading. KLE Group closed trading of 1,000 units and gained 4 cents to end at $1.25, Lasco Distributors added 10 cents in exchanging 537 shares at $3, Lasco Manufacturing lost 90 cents in trading of 1,457,018 units at $2.75. Lumber Depot rose 1 cent, transferring 787,765 shares at $1.21, MailPac closed trading of 451,161 units and gained 9 cents to end at $1.50, Main Event jumped 65 cents and closed at $4.50 after transferring 27,477 units. Medical Disposables climbed 80 cents and exchanged 14,650 shares at $6.50, Stationery and Office Supplies traded 2,112 shares, after rising 20 cents to end at $6 and tTech closed 75 cents higher at $4.25, with 50,000 stock units changing hands.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows five stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and four with lower offers.
Key Insurance ended with a loss of 1 cent at 2 with 80,000 stock units changing hands, KLE Group closed with 47,367 shares, changing hands after rising 1 cent to end at $1.21, Knutsford Express ended with a loss of $1 to finish at $6 with 3,211 stock units changing hands. Lasco Distributors shed 10 cents in trading of 30,601 units at $2.90, Lasco Financial climbed 5 cents and exchanged 344,486 shares at $2.55, Lasco Manufacturing rose 15 cents and transferred 40,200 shares at $3.65. Limners and Bards lost 5 cents in trading 209,671 shares to close at $1.80, Lumber Depot closed 5 cents higher at $1.20, with 1,302,525 stock units trading, MailPac ended with 402,140 shares crossing the exchange, after rising 4 cents to end at $1.41. Main Event declined by 65 cents in trading of 69,210 units at $3.85, Medical Disposables ended market activity exchanging 72,841 shares to close at $5.70 after falling 40cents, Paramount Trading closed 8 cents higher at $1.98, with 4,000 stock units trading. Stationery and Office Supplies picked up 30 cents and exchanged 6,782 shares at $5.80 and tTech ended market activity trading 5,000 shares to close at $3.50 after falling 20 cents.
Trading ended with 32 securities changing hands, resulting in an exchange of 2,522,568 units valued at $6,848,779 compared to 3,161,624 units valued at $9,205,109 from 33 companies’ securities on Tuesday.
Caribbean Assurance picked up 2 cents and traded 168,230 shares to close at $1.98, Caribbean Producers fell 67 cents in trading of 544,576 units at a 52 weeks’ low of $2.33, Consolidated Bakeries closed 18 cents higher at $1.48 with 118,186 stock units crossing the exchange. Dolphin Cove declined by 10 cents to settle at $6.40 with a transfer of 5,133 shares, Elite Diagnostic swapped 35,610 shares after rising 19 cents to end at $2.90, Everything Fresh closed at a 52 weeks’ low of 60 cents after slipping 2 cents and exchanging 52,075 shares. General Accident lost 10 cents in trading 5,780 shares to close at $4, Honey Bun gained 30 cents to close at $6 with 26,694 stock units changing hands, Indies Pharma lost 30 cents in trading 300 shares to close at 52 weeks’ low of $1.25. Jamaican Teas climbed 26 cents and exchanged 66,135 shares at $3.96, Jetcon Corporation closed 3 cents higher at $1.03 with 20,965 stock units trading, 
Lasco Distributors ended trading of 111,827 units and gained 8 cents to settle at $3. Lasco Financial dropped 35 cents in the exchange of 25,455 units at $2.50, Limners and Bards lost 3 cents in trading 5,000 shares to close at $1.85, Lumber Depot ended trading with 338,706 shares, after rising 11 cents to $1.15. MailPac lost 2 cents in swapping of 76,242 units at $1.37, Main Event climbed 69 cents and exchanged 11,000 shares to close at $4.50, Medical Disposables closed at $6.10 after adding 40 cents in exchanging 3,113 shares. Stationery and Office Supplies ended with a loss of $1 at a 52 weeks’ low of $5.50 with 40,000 stock units changing hand and tTech climbed 20 cents to $3.70 with 2,478 shares crossing the exchange.
Trading on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange ended on Tuesday with the market Index diving 52.80 points to close at 2,100.86, down 37 percent for the year as 33 securities changed hands, with prices of nine securities rising, 15 falling and nine remaining unchanged.
Caribbean Cream exchanged 20,000 stock units and gained 1 cent to end at $2.11, Caribbean Flavours fell 50 cents in trading of 600 units at a 52 weeks’ low of $10. Caribbean Producers declined 10 cents to settle at $3, with 10,000 shares changing hands, Dolphin Cove traded 14,156 shares and fell 50 cents to close $6.50, Elite Diagnostic dropped 39 cents in trading of 95,816 units at a 52 weeks’ low of $2.71. Fosrich ended market activity in exchanging 63,565 shares to close at $2.50 after falling 45 cents, Fontana shed 20 cents in trading of 385,577 units at $4, General Accident dropped 90 cents to settle at $4.10 after exchanging 181,000 stock units and trading at an intraday 52 weeks’ low of $3.89. Indies Pharma closed 5 cents higher at $1.55, with 28,655 stock units trading, Jamaican Teas lost 30 cents in trading 105,774 shares to close at $3.70, Jetcon Corporation dipped 10 cents with 205,925 units changing hands at $1, Knutsford Express declined 25 cents in trading of 79 units at a 52 weeks’ low of $7. KLE Group shed 40 cents in trading of 957 units at a 52 weeks’ low of $1.20, Lasco Distributors closed 32 cents higher at $2.92, with 25,111 stock units changing hands, 
Lasco Financial closed 29 cents higher at $2.85, with 24,070 stock units trading. Lasco Manufacturing exchanged 39,019 units and gained 64 cents to end at $3.50, Limners and Bards rose 18 cents to end at $1.88 and closed with 137,535 units crossing the exchange, Lumber Depot closed with a loss of 21 cents at 52 weeks’ low of $1.04, swapping of 356,449 shares. MailPac closed trading of 92,679 units and gained 8 cents to end at $1.39. Medical Disposables declined by 50 cents to settle at $5.70, after exchanging 60,381 stock units, Paramount Trading lost 10 cents in trading 34,500 shares to close at 1.90 cents, Stationery and Office Supplies traded 12,974 shares and gained 50 cents to end at $6.50 and tTech declined 20 cents in trading of 1,000,620 units at a 52 weeks’ low of $3.50.
Market activities resulted in an exchange of 3,024,296 units valued at just $6,277,143 compared to 3,640,594 units valued at $10,061,535 on Friday. The average market PE ratio ended at ten times, 2019 earnings.
Cargo Handlers fell 40 cents trading 842 stock units to close at $5.10, Caribbean Assurance declined 1 cent to end at $1.94 with 188,778 units traded, Caribbean Cream closed with a loss of 65 cents at a 52 weeks’ low of $2.10 in the swapping of 100,000 shares. Caribbean Producers dropped 15 cents to settle at $3.10 as 11,008 units changed hands, Consolidated Bakeries ended 4 cents higher at $1.30 with 54,386 stock units crossing the exchange, Elite Diagnostic dropped 40 cents in trading of 93,115 units at $3.10. Express Catering finished with a loss of 60 cents at $3.20 with an exchange of 66,107 shares, Fontana ended trading with 230,426 units, after rising 20 cents to end at $4.20, Fosrich closed trading of 115,510 units and gained 55 cents to end at $2.95. General Accident closed 13 cents higher at $5, with 3,101 stock units trading, GWest Corporation declined 9 cents in trading of 106,669 units at 70 cents, iCreate closed with a loss of 2 cents at 45 cents after swapping 435,204 shares. Indies Pharma lost 45 cents in trading 117,958 shares to settle at a 52 weeks’ low of $1.50, Jamaican Teas closed with a loss of 15 cents at $4 swapping 37,073 shares, Jetcon Corporation ended market activity exchanging 10,100 shares to close at $1.10 after slipping 2 cents. Knutsford Express fell 25 cents to $7.25 with 1,300 shares traded, Lasco Distributors concluded trading of 9,994 units and gained 20 cents to finish at $2.60, Lasco Financial closed 6 cents higher at $2.56 with 78,306 units traded. 
Lasco Manufacturing rose 4 cents after exchanging 136,184 shares at $2.86, Limners and Bards ended trading with 42,154 shares, after rising 10 cents to close at $1.70, Lumber Depot exchanging 429,151 shares and lost 3 cents to close at $1.25. MailPac fell 9 cents to $1.31 with 478,451 units traded, Main Event declined by 39 cents to settle at $3.81 with 8,332 shares changing hands, Medical Disposables closed trading of 1,889 units and gained 50 cents to end at $6.20. Paramount Trading gained 30 cents and exchanged 4,956 units to end at $2, SSL Venture closed at $1 after falling 10 cents and swapping 10,543 shares and tTech declined by 55 cents to $3.70 with 1,660 stock units crossing the exchange.
Trading ended with 33 securities changing hands, with 11 stocks advancing, 15 declining and the prices of seven companies holding firm, resulting in an exchange of 3,640,594 units valued at $10,061,535 compared to 3,923,029 units valued at $10,812,457 on Thursday. The average PE ratio 
At the close of the market, AMG Packaging shed 19 cents in swapping 4,283 units at $1.71, Blue Power picked up 70 cents to end at $3.70 with a mere 226 shares changing hands, CAC 2000 fell 30 cents to $12.50 in trading 12,200 shares. Caribbean Assurance Brokers lost 6 cents in transferring 51,369 shares and closed at $1.95, Caribbean Cream finished at a 52 weeks’ low of $2.75, after falling 6 cents in exchanging 63,966 stock units, Caribbean Producers climbed 75 cents to $3.25 after trading 35,200 units. Derrimon Trading lost 1 cent in swapping 231,500 shares to close at $1.47, Dolphin Cove lost 50 cents to end at a 52 weeks’ low of $6.50, with 14,156 stock units changing hands, Everything Fresh traded 105,000 shares at a 52 weeks’ low of 62 cents after losing 3 cents. Express Catering gained 40 cents in transferring 58,890 shares at $3.80, General Accident traded 5,550 shares at $4.87, with a loss of 22 cents, GWest Corporation shed 6 cents exchanging of 103,759 units at 79 cents. Honey Bun ended 75 cents higher at $5.70 with 13,258 stock units changing hands, Indies Pharma gained 2 cents in trading 16,063 units at $1.95, Iron Rock rose to $2.30, with gains of 30 cents after swapping 100 units. 
Jamaican Teas shed 83 cents with 7,110 shares crossing the exchange at $4.15, Knutsford Express closed 50 cents lower in the swapping of 2,011 shares to close at a 52 weeks’ low of $7.50 and Lasco Distributors added 20 cents trading 28,700 stock units to finish at $2.40. Lasco Financial gained 10 cents in transferring 213,281 units at $2.50, Lasco Manufacturing ended at $2.82 after a loss of 18 cents with 120,693 stock units changed hands, Limners and Bards shed 25 cents in trading of 74,316 shares to end at $1.60. Lumber Depot closed at $1.28 with gains of 7 cents in swapping 192,203 shares, Main Event exchanged 51,669 shares to close at $4.20 after gaining 40 cents, Medical Disposables lost 30 cents in transferring 24,798 units at $5.70. Paramount Trading closed 11 cents lower at $1.70 as 238,829 shares and SSL Venture gained 10 cents with just 500 shares trading at $1.10.
Trading ended with 37 securities changing hands with the prices of 17 securities advancing, ten declining and 11 stocks holding firm. Market activities ended with three finishing at 52 weeks’ lows with Access Financial trading at a low of $18, Everything Fresh at 65 cents and Indies Pharma at $1.93.
At the close of the market, Access Financial fell $1.20 to $18 after exchanging 9,070 shares, AMG Packaging gained 31 cents in the trading of 45,400 units at $1.90, Blue Power slid 67 cents to $3 with 3,349 shares changing hands. Caribbean Assurance Brokers picked up 6 cents to settle at $2.01, with 203,463 shares traded. Caribbean Producers ended the day with 1,102,052 units changing hands after falling 1 cent to $2.50, Consolidated Bakeries closed with a gain of 1 cent at $1.26 in the swapping of 30,000 shares. Derrimon Trading gained 8 cents in trading 151,900 shares to close at $1.48, Everything Fresh exchanged 140,000 shares at 65 cents after losing 15 cents, Express Catering swapped 111,969 shares at $3.40 with gains of 40 cents, Fontana picked up 20 cents to close at $4 with 346,578 units traded. General Accident exchanged 81,830 shares and rose 79 cents to close at $5.09, GWest Corporation added 20 cents in trading of 1,669 units at 85 cents. Honey Bun ended 5 cents lower at $4.95 with 24,331 stock units changing hands, Indies Pharma fell by 4 cents in trading of 77,709 units at $1.93. ISP Finance shed $1 to end at $14, with an exchange of 200 units, 
Jamaican Teas added 98 cents in trading 60,625 shares at $4.98, Jetcon gained 13 cents in the swapping of 22,669 shares to close at $1.12, Key Insurance closed at $2.08, with gains of 8 cents exchanging 23,520 shares. Lasco Distributors gained 20 cents trading 1,100 stock units to settle at $2.20, Lasco Financial added 10 cents in trading of 60,130 units at $2.40, Lasco Manufacturing ended at $3 after gaining 20 cents with 55,747 stock units changing hands., Limners and Bards traded 31,005 shares after slipping 10 cents to end at $1.85. Lumber Depot closed at $1.21 with gains of 4 cents in swapping 144,020 shares, MailPac rose by 1 cent in trading of 438,215 units at $1.40, Main Event exchanged 32,088 shares to close at $3.80 after losing 20 cents, Medical Disposables added 30 cents in exchange of 2,000 units at $6. Paramount Trading closed 1 cent lower at $1.81 with 32,611 shares changing hands and SSL Venture traded 4,725 shares to end the day 10 cents lower at $1.
Trading resulted in many stocks rebounding at the close of the market activities and leading to the prices of 17 securities rising, 13 declining and the prices of seven stocks closing unchanged.
At the close of the market, Access Financial fell $2.60 to 52 weeks’ low of $19.20 after exchanging 5,000 shares, AMG Packaging shed 31 cents in the trading of 650 units at $1.59, Blue Power slipped 2 cents to $3.67 with 17,751 shares changing hands. CAC 2000 climbed 30 cents to $12.80 with 5,800 stock units traded, Cargo Handlers ended at $5.50 with 3,749 shares crossing the exchange after gaining 40 cents, Caribbean Assurance Brokers picked up 4 cents to settle at $1.95 with 110,320 stock units traded. Caribbean Cream added 1 cent in the exchange of 10,0000 shares to close at $2.81, Caribbean Producers ended the day with 105,100 units traded after falling 21 cents to a 52 weeks’ low of $2.51, Consolidated Bakeries closed with a loss of 20 cents at a 52 weeks’ low of $1.25 in the swapping of 15,224 stock units. Dolphin Cove dropped 80 cents in trading of a mere 40 shares to close at a 52 weeks’ low of $7, Everything Fresh exchanged 11,864 units at 80 cents after losing 5 cents, Fontana picked up 8 cents to close at $3.80 with 1,010,881 stock units traded, but only after it traded at a 52 weeks’ low of $3.50. Fosrich fell 60 cents to settle at a 52 weeks’ low of $2.40 with 30,688 shares swapped, General Accident exchanged 17,504 shares and declined by 20 cents to close at $4.30, GWest Corporation gained 5 cents in trading of 19,578 units at 65 cents. Honey Bun ended 50 cents higher at $5 with 11,138 stock units changing hands, iCreate climbed 2 cents and exchanged 44,589 shares at 47 cents, Indies Pharma fell 12 cents trading of 30,039 units at a 52 weeks’ low of $1.97. 
Jamaican Teas added 5 cents and exchanged 50,095 stock units at $4, Jetcon gained 2 cents in the swapping of 99,650 shares to close at 99 cents, Lasco Distributors fell 28 cents and traded 1,507,553 stock units to settle at a 52 weeks’ low of $2. Lasco Financial climbed 30 cents in trading of 53,016 units at $2.30, Lasco Manufacturing lost 6 cents to settle at $2.80 with an exchange of 77,309 stock units, Limners and Bards traded 50,648 shares after slipping 31 cents to end at $1.95. MailPac gained 4 cents in trading 128,220 units at $1.39, Main Event rose 49 cents and exchanged 59,013 shares to close at $4, Medical Disposables rose 40 in exchanging 10,932 units at $5.70. Paramount Trading closed 2 cents higher at $1.82 with 15,000 stock units changing hands, SSL Venture traded 10,000 shares to end the day 8 cents higher at $1.10 and Stationery and Office Supplies climbed 30 cents to $6 with 31,286 shares crossing the exchange.