Looking at the Access Financial results to March without dissecting it would lead to a conclusion that things have slowed with earnings per share of $2.49 versus $2.19 as the comparative reported in the audited financial statements for 2107.
Those numbers disguise the full impact of the 2017 fiscal performance that is up nearly 47 percent after tax, compared to the previous twelve months period. The company that made its name lending workers supported by employers making payroll deductions for repaying the loans, made profit after tax of $678 million versus $463 million when the 15 month period is adjusted for the extra 3 months. The growth continues the strong growth of the company as loans keeps on growing year after year and being up $514 million in the last twelve months to $$2.6 billion. Access has shareholders’ equity of $1.7 billion and should exceed the $2 billion mark during the current fiscal year as profit for the current fiscal year.
IC Insider.com is forecasting profit for the year to March 2018 to exceed $1 billion with earnings per share of $4 with $6 for the 2019 fiscal year.
Dividends paid during the year to March 2017 amounted to $178,431,396 or 26 percent of profit. The stock traded at a record high of $50 on Tuesday on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange.
47% surge in Access profit
JSE Main market surges
The main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange enjoyed a big bounce at the close of trading on Tuesday with 25 securities changing hands and 2 trading in the US dollar market. At the close, 7 stocks advanced and 10 declined.
Trading levels in the main market ended at 7,796,244 units valued at $62,297,173 compared to 836,055 units valued at $14,784,987 at the close on Monday. Trading in the US dollar market accounted for 51,155 units valued at US$13,984.
The All Jamaica Composite Index advanced 2,095.53 points to close at 260,306.56 the JSE Market Index rose 1,909.26 points to finish at 237,168.74 and the JSE US dollar market index lost 9.64 points to close at 205.95.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading in the main and US dollar markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 8 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 1 with a lower offer.
The main market ended trading with an average of 311,850 units valued at $2,491,887 per security traded, compared to an average of 34,836 units valued at $616,041 on Monday. 
The average volume and value for the month to date ended at 371,912 units with an average value of $7,355,047 compared with an average of 374,915 units and $5,236,889 on the previous trading day. The average volume and value for April ended at 382,748 units with an average value of $5,254,387.
In market activity, Barita Investments closed at $7.20 trading 2,000 shares,Berger Paints closed at $18.52, with a loss of $1.48 exchanging 21,400 shares, Cable and Wireless gained 4 cents to close at $1.34, with 54,006 shares trading, Caribbean Cement added $1.99 cents, closing at $29.99 in exchanging 56,002 shares. Carreras jumped $4 and advanced to $84, with 599 shares changing hands, Grace Kennedy lost 10 cents to close at $40.90 trading 95,341 units, Jamaica Broilers traded 6,774 shares at $18, Jamaica Producers traded 41 cents lower to close at $15.60, while trading 39,000 shares, Jamaica Stock Exchange closed at $7.20, with a loss of 10 cents while exchanging 57,952 shares. JMMB Group slid 95 cents to $18.85 trading 403,790 units, Kingston Properties lost 50 cents to close at $11.50, with 3,006 shares traded, Mayberry Investments exchanged 10,000 shares at $5.50, with gains of 60 cents. NCB Financial Group closed at $70.60, losing 40 cents after exchanging 6,478 shares, 1834 Investments traded 500 shares at $1.40, PanJam Investment closed at $35, with a loss of 50 cents in the trading of 8,800 shares. 
Portland JSX exchanged 1,567 shares at $10.15, Pulse Investments traded 11,400 shares at $14.50, Radio Jamaica closed at $1.70, trading 47,634 shares, Sagicor Group added 50 cents to close at $34 exchanging 990,823 shares, Sagicor Real Estate Fund gained 40 cents, closing at $11, with 114,491 units changing hands. Scotia Group closed at $42.50, with gains of 50 cents exchanging 9,544 units, Supreme Ventures closed at $7.25 trading 4,837 shares. Margaritaville Turks closed at 34 US cents trading 2,500 units, Proven Investments closed at 28.5 US cents, with trades of 48,655 ordinary shares, JMMB 7.5% preference share lost 5 cents to close at $2, with an exchange of 4,799,500 units, JMMB Group 7.5% preference share closed at $1.10 trading 1,000,000 and Proven Investments 8.25% preference share traded 80 cents lower to close at $5.20, with 50,000 units changing owners.
Trading sinks in Jamaican stocks – Monday
Trading in the main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange closed on Monday with main indices rising as 24 securities changed hands and with 2 trading in the US dollar market. At the close, 8 stocks advanced and 6 declined with very low level of trading.
Trading in the main market ended at 836,055 units valued at $14,784,987 compared to 4,417,748 units valued at $73,092,399 at the close on Friday. Trading in the US dollar market accounted for 6,430 units valued at US$6,926.
The All Jamaica Composite Index advanced 922.05 points to close at 258,211.03, the JSE Market Index rose 840.09 points to finish at 235,259.48 and the JSE US dollar market index closed unchanged at 215.59.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading in the main and US dollar markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 9 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 2 with lower offers.
The main market ended trading with an average of 34,836 units valued at $616,041 per security traded, compared to an average of 152,336 units valued at $2,520,428 on Tuesday. The average volume and value for the month to date ended at 374,915 units with an average value of $5,236,889 compared with an average of 392,814 units with an average value of $5,480,092 on the previous trading day. The average volume and value for April ended at 382,748 units with an average value of $5,254,387.
In market activity, Berger Paints closed at $20, gaining $1 while exchanging 49,814 shares, Cable and Wireless closed at $1.30, with 268,988 shares changing hands, Caribbean Cement traded 25 cents lower to close at $28 with 17,316 shares. Carreras closed at $80, with 10,397 shares changing hands and closed with the bid at $81, Grace Kennedy closed at $41 trading 49,831 units, Jamaica Broilers traded 23,833 shares at $18, Jamaica Producers gained 1 cent to close at $16.01, with trades of 22,355 shares, Jamaica Stock Exchange closed at $7.30, with gains of 30 cents while trading 1,602 shares. JMMB Group lost 20 cents to close at $19.80 with 20,100 units, Kingston Wharves gained $1.50 to close at $32, with 7,444 units trading, Mayberry Investments traded 40,050 shares at $4.90, with a loss of 40 cents. NCB Financial Group closed at $71 after gaining 1 cent in exchanging 61,352 shares, 1834 Investments closed at $1.40, with 25,232 shares changing owners, 
138 Student Living exchanged 43,375 shares at $4.49, PanJam Investment closed at $35.50, losing 12 cents trading 65,096 shares. Pulse Investments traded 10,614 shares at $14.50, Radio Jamaica gained 5 cents to close at $1.70, with trades of 18,582 shares, Sagicor Group added 48 cents to close at $33.50 exchanging 14,500 shares, Sagicor Real Estate Fund lost 20 cents, closing at $10.60, with 9,981 units changing hands. Salada Foods closed at $8.50 trading 4,000 shares, Scotia Group closed at $42, with an exchange of 1,700 units, Sterling Investments closed at $15.50 trading 30,000 shares, Supreme Ventures lost 24 cents to close at $7.25 exchanging 10,893 shares. Proven Investments 8.25% preference share traded 29,000 units and rose 79 cents to $6, Proven Investments ordinary shares closed at 29 US cents, with 330 shares and JMMB Group USD 6% preference share gained 0.01 US cent to close at US$1.12, with 6,100 units changing hands.
The Exuberant 10
The JSE stock traded at an outlandish $13.50 & dropped 47% since.
It is not nice to watch one’s investment lose value while others grow delivering big gains at the same time. Many investors plunge into investments that will result in just that happening, as they err and refuse to let go and reinvest, to recover their loss, from gains elsewhere.
A look back at prices in 2005, reveals shocking results of costly ill-timed investments. In June 2005, investors in a bout of excess exuberance, pushed Mayberry Investments to $8.40 from a listed price of $5.05, weeks after it listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, 12 years later it is still to reach back to that level. That is a huge blow to investors who held on to the shares from then.
The sad thing is that many investors who wanted to sell could not, as attempts were made to control the price from a big drop as selling started to overwhelm buying a few days after nearly 40 million shares were traded around the $7-8 level. Mayberry is an outstanding example of investors making huge errors based on inadequate information and paying dearly for it.
But Mayberry’s stock is not the only one that investors underwent a long period of suffering from, they have a number of top notch companies as their friends that that performed poorly until fairly recently. Scotia Group was pushed to $33.50 in March 2005 based on results that were not sustainable as the bank benefited by a poor decision of the Central Bank to push interest rates on CDS paying interest at elevated levels for about two to three years. The banks of course made a killing when rates fell back. Added to that, Scotia effected a stock split that sent the stock flying.
Well it was not until late 2016 that the price exceeded the 2005 high. JMMB Group’s shareholders saw the price of the stock peaking at $22 in April 2004 only to see it fall away and not getting back to that level until recently this year. That is not great for a stock that is not a great dividend payer.
Grace Kennedy hit a high of $123 (Now $41 after stock split in 2016), in January 2005, it has taken nearly 12 years to recover the loss and it has still not delivered much more in gains since its full recovery.
Markets tend to repeat past behaviors, over and over but sometimes they take a break from the norm. PE ratios are the end product of investors’ perception of values for stocks. There are other measures but the PE is the most widely used. When PEs are pushed well beyond where the majority of investors thing the value ought to be, they induce added buying or selling. Investors who buy when the market has pushed valuation well above what is considered the norm, usually pay a steep price for so doing. The 2005 examples are cases in point. An accepted concept is that the PE ratio should be line with profit growth. One year’s growth cannot be used by itself but investors have to try and determine that themselves.
Most of the stocks in the IC Insider’s Exuberant 10, were pushed in 2017 by excessive enthusiasm and in some cases wrong information. Stock splits helped to fuel some of the excess as well. The attached table shows the stocks that were pushed well above their appropriate values and the levels of correction since. Some may fall even more than their latest price as they can be considered overvalued based on known earnings for the current period. A few that are not on the list could see a decent fall as well, included in this latter list are Knutsford Express and Kingston Properties.
Trading improving for Jamaica stocks
The Jamaica Stock Exchnage main market fell on Friday with improved trading.
Trading levels hit rock bottom on the main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Friday May 19, when less than 1 million units valued at a mere $11.8 million traded has been rebounding with this Friday’s level being the highest since Thursday last week. On Friday the value of traded stocks almost doubled that of Thursday this week.
Trading improved on the Monday with $31 million of trades but fell back on Wednesday to $27 million and picked up to $37 million on Thursday before moving higher on Friday. Trading levels in the main market ended at 4,417,748 units valued at $73,092,399 compared to 1,392,798 units valued at $37,103,714 at the close on Thursday. Trading in the US dollar market accounted for 56,375 units valued at US$17,199.
The All Jamaica Composite Index declined 1,094.79 points to close at 257,288.98 the JSE Market Index fell 997.48 points to finish at 234,419.39 and the JSE US dollar market index lost 1.69 points to close at 215.59.
The main market ended trading with an average of 152,336 units valued at $2,520,428 per security traded, compared to an average of 53,569 units valued at $1,427,066 on Tuesday. The average volume and value for the month to date ended at 392,814 units with an average value of $5,480,092 compared with an average of 406,174 units and $5,644,518 on the previous trading day. The average volume and value for April ended at 382,748 units with an average value of $5,254,387.
Trading ended with 31 securities changing hands including 2 trading in the US dollar market. At the close, 8 stocks advanced and 8 declined.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading in the main and US dollar markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 7 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 1 with a lower offer.
In market activity, Barita Investments closed at $7.20 trading 100 shares, Berger Paints exchanged 7,134 shares at $19, Cable and Wireless closed at $1.30, trading 982,050 shares, Caribbean Cement traded 25 cents lower to close at $28.25 exchanging 51,000 shares. Carreras closed at $80, losing $1 with 7,731 shares changing hands, Grace Kennedy gained $1 and closed at $41, with 22,872 units trading, Jamaica Broilers traded 9,249 shares at $18, Jamaica Producers gained 15 cents to close at $16, with 12,538 shares changing hands, 
Jamaica Stock Exchange closed at $7, after falling 69 cents while exchanging 351,722 shares. JMMB Group exchanged 50,672 units at $20, Kingston Properties traded 52,625 shares at $12, Kingston Wharves lost 50 cents to close at $30.50, trading 5,378 units, Mayberry Investments traded 1,900 shares at $5.30, NCB Financial Group closed at $70.99, with gains of 38 cents after exchanging 242,233 shares, 1834 Investments lost 6 cents and closed at $1.40, with 135,646 shares changing owners, 138 Student Living exchanged 15,000 shares at $4.49, PanJam Investment closed at $35.62, gaining 62 cents in trading 20,553 shares. Portland JSX gained 5 cents to close at $10.15 with an exchange of 2,416 shares, Pulse Investments traded 17,157 shares at $14.50, Radio Jamaica lost 7 cents to close at $1.65, trading 126,425 shares, Sagicor Group added 2 cents to close at $33.02 exchanging 1,021,346 shares, Sagicor Real Estate Fund gained 12 cents, closing at $10.80, with 17,797 units changing hands. Salada Foods jumped $1.02 to close at $8.50 trading 10,000 shares, Scotia Group closed at $42, with an exchange of 85,543 units, Scotia Investments closed at $36.50, with a loss of $1 trading 500 shares. Seprod closed at $30 exchanging 170,000 shares, Sterling Investments closed at $15.50 trading 11,700 shares and Supreme Ventures lost 1 cent to close at $7.49 in an exchange of 211,461 shares. Margaritaville Turks closed at 34 US cents, with 20,500 units changing hands, Proven Investments closed at 28.5 US cents, gaining 0.01 US cent in trading 35,875 ordinary shares and JMMB Group 7.50% preference closed at $1.10 with trades of 775,000 units trading.
Trading activity picking up on JSE
Trading continues to show improving levels on Thursday on the main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange, with the value of trading rising for the third day in a row. The market closed with 27 securities changing hands including 1 trading in the US dollar market. At the close, 9 st0cks advanced and 10 declined.
Trading levels in the main market ended at 1,392,798 units valued at $37,103,714 compared to 1,213,938 units valued at $26,942,858 at the close on Wednesday. Trading in the US dollar market accounted for 1,450,000 units valued at US$411,800.
The All Jamaica Composite Index advanced 31.85 points to close at 258,383.77 the JSE Market Index gained 29.02 points to finish at 235,416.87 and the JSE US dollar market index fell 0.64 points to close at 217.28.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading in the main and US dollar markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 8 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 3 with lower offers.
The main market ended trading with an average of 53,569 units valued at $1,427,066 per security traded, compared to an average of 46,690 units valued at $1,036,264 on Tuesday. The average volume and value for the month to date ended at 406,174 units with an average value of $5,644,518 compared with an average of 426,916 units and $5,892,603 on the previous trading day. The average volume and value for April ended at 382,748 units with an average value of $5,254,387.
In market activity, Barita Investments gained 10 cents to close at $7.20 exchanging 100 shares, Berger Paints traded 37,357 shares at $19, Cable and Wireless closed at $1.30, with a loss of 5 cents trading 47,024 shares. Carreras closed at $81, after losing $2 with 17,589 shares changing hands, Grace Kennedy closed at $40, with a loss of $3 trading 488,958 units, Jamaica Broilers traded $1.50 lower to close at $18, after exchanging 8,741 shares, Jamaica Producers lost 15 cents to close at $15.85, with trades of 51,274 shares and Jamaica Stock Exchange gained 19 cents, closing at $7.69 with an exchange of 15,592 shares. JMMB Group closed at $20, gaining 1 cent with 41,891 units changing hands, after the recent 2 for 1 stock split Kingston Properties traded $2 higher to close at an all-time high of $12 in exchanging 10,253 shares, Kingston Wharves gained $1.60 to close at $31, with trades of 22,374 units, Mayberry Investments traded 100 shares at $5.30, 
NCB Financial Group closed at $70.61, losing 89 cents after exchanging 43,749 shares, 1834 Investments closed at $1.46, with 75,850 shares changing owners, 138 Student Living exchanged 4,372 shares at $4.49, PanJam Investment closed at $35, with a loss of 50 cents trading 22,040 shares. Pulse Investments traded 5,000 shares at $14.50, Radio Jamaica closed at $1.72, with trades of 2,450 shares, Sagicor Group closed at $33, gaining 50 cents exchanging 207,022 shares, Sagicor Real Estate fund closed at $10.68, with gains of 3 cents trading 7,400 units, Scotia Group traded 10 cents lower to close at $42, with an exchange of 5,300 units, Seprod closed at $30 exchanging 6,846 shares, Sterling Investments traded $1.40 lower to close at $15.50, with trades of 10,210 shares, Supreme Ventures gained cents to close at $7.50 trading 10,106 shares. Proven Investments closed at 28.4 US cents, losing 0.1 US cent in exchanging 1,450,000 ordinary shares, JMMB 7.50% preference gained 1 cent to close at $2.06, with 231,200 changing hands and JMMB Group 7.50% preference closed at $1.10 with trades of 20,000 units.
JSE main market retreats on Wednesday
Trading in the main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange closed on Wednesday with 26 securities changing hands with 1 trading in the US dollar market. At the close, 8 stocks advanced and 12 declined.
Trading levels in the main market ended at 1,213,938 units valued at $26,942,858 compared to 2,049,349 units valued at $29,749,255 at the close on Monday. Trading in the US dollar market accounted for 8,950 units valued at US$2,551.
The All Jamaica Composite Index declined 1252.85 points to close at 258,351.92 the JSE Market Index dropped 1,141.49 points to finish at 235,387.85 and the JSE US dollar market index advanced 11.73 points to close at 217.92.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading in the main and US dollar markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 8 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 1 with a lower offer.
The main market ended trading with an average of 46,690 units valued at $1,036,264 per security traded, compared to an average of 81,974 units valued at $1,189,970 on Monday. 
The average volume and value for the month to date ended at 426,916 units with an average value of $5,892,603 compared with an average of 450,680 units and $6,196,124 on the previous trading day. The average volume and value for April ended at 382,748 units with an average value of $5,254,387.
In market activity, Berger Paints traded 9,963 shares at $19, Cable and Wireless closed at $1.35, with a loss of 2 cents exchanging 21,085 shares and Caribbean Cement traded 50 cents higher to close at $28.50 with trades of 84,386 units. Carreras exchanged 7,452 shares at $83, Grace Kennedy closed at $43, gaining 1 cent with trades of 55,130 units, Jamaica Broilers closed at $19.50, with gains of 95 cents, after 42,750 shares changed hands, Jamaica Producers gained 1 cent to close at $16, with an exchange of 38,937 shares and Jamaica Stock Exchange lost 4 cents to close at $7.50 trading 3,917 shares. JMMB Group closed at $19.99, losing 2 cents with trades of 20,721 units, Kingston Properties traded for the first time after last week’s 2 for 1 stock split and jumped $1.70 to close at a new record high of $10 exchanging 7,820 shares, Kingston Wharves fell $2.10 to close at $29.40, with an exchange of 11,200 units, Mayberry Investments gained $1.12 to close at $5.30, with 200 shares changing hands, 
NCB Financial Group closed at $71.50, losing 50 cents after trading 13,881 shares, 1834 Investments gained 1 cent to close at $1.46, with trades of 2,800 shares, 138 Student Living exchanged 32,606 shares at $4.49, PanJam Investment closed at $35.50, with a loss of 11 cents exchanging 14,745 shares. Radio Jamaica closed at $1.72, gaining 7 cents trading 10,616 shares, Sagicor Group closed at $32.50 with trades of 431,201 shares, Sagicor Real Estate fund closed at $10.65, losing 64 cents exchanging 10,599 units, Scotia Group closed at $42.10, with a loss of $1.20 trading 28,989 units, Scotia Investments traded 5,193 shares at $37.50, after losing 35 cents, Seprod dropped $4 to close at $30 exchanging 27,802 shares, strong>Sterling Investments traded 10,400 shares at $16.90 and Supreme Ventures lost 49 cents to close at $7, with trades of 75,850 shares. Proven Investments closed at 29 US cents trading 8,950 ordinary shares and JMMB Group 7.50% preference closed at $1.10 with trades of 243,195 units.
Knutsford approves split
Shareholders of Knutsford Express Services, approved a 5 for 1 stock split at an Extraordinary General Meeting held on May 22, increasing the issued capital from 100,000,003 units to 500,000,015 shares of no par value.
The meeting also agreed that each ordinary share of the company be subdivided into five shares resulting in the Authorized Share capital of the Company increasing from 100,005,000 shares to 500,025,000 shares of no par value. The record date is June 2 and the ex-split date will be May 30.
The stock traded today at $66 on the Jamaica Stock Exchange. The split should result in the price trading at $13.20 and could easily go to $15. With only 500 million shares issued, the company may well need to consider another split at the annual general meeting later this year.
JSE trading picks up a bit on Monday
Trading remained light on the main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Monday, with stocks worth less than $29 million trading, but higher than the $12 million traded, on Friday. The main and US dollar markets closed with just 25 securities changing hands, including one trading in the US dollar market, versus 20 on Friday. At the close, 7 stocks advanced and 11 declined.
Trading levels in the main market ended at 2,049,349 units valued at $29,749,255 compared to 827,534 units valued at $10,595,699 at the close on Friday. Trading in the US dollar market accounted for 42,110 units valued at US$11,227.
The All Jamaica Composite Index fell 82.35 points to close at 259,604.77 and the JSE Market Index lost 75.03 points to finish at 236,529.34. The JSE US dollar market index closed at 206.19 after falling 14.92 points.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading in the main and US dollar markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 8 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 1 with a lower offer.
The main market ended trading with an average of 81,974 units valued at $1,189,970 per security traded, compared to an average of 43,554 units valued at $557,668 on Friday. The average volume and value for the month to date ended at 450,680 units with an average value of $6,196,124 compared with an average of 518,349 units with an average value of $6,907,416 on the previous trading day. The average volume and value for April ended at 382,748 units with an average value of $5,254,387.
In market activity, Barita Investments rose 10 cents to close at $7.10 trading 27,000 shares Berger Paints fell 1 cent to close at $19 while exchanging 14,842 shares, Cable and Wireless lost 1 cent and closed at $1.37, with 292,756 shares changing hands, Caribbean Cement dropped $2 to close at $28 with 5,536 units traded, Carreras closed at $83 with an exchange of 4,672 shares, Grace Kennedy lost just 1 cent and closed at $42.99, trading 12,006 units. Jamaica Broilers dropped by $1.43 and closed at $18.55, with 168,804 shares changing ownership, Jamaica Producers gained 49 cents and closed at $15.99, with an exchange of 57,385 shares, Jamaica Stock Exchange gained 4 cents to close at $7.54 in trading 6,808 shares. Kingston Wharves closed at $31.50, with 7,876 units trading, JMMB Group lost 49 cents and closed at $20.01, with 196,659 units being exchanged, NCB Financial Group closed at $72 with a rise of 1 cent, after trading 170,655 shares, 1834 Investments traded 288,189 shares and lost 35 cents to close at $1.45, 138 Student Living traded 1,150 shares at $4.49,
PanJam Investment closed at $35.61 with 2,684 shares changing hands, Pulse Investments traded 54,400 units and gained 10 cents to close at $14.50 after trading at a record high of $16.50 during the day, Radio Jamaica closed at $1.65 after falling 5 cents and trading 30,413 shares, Sagicor Group closed with a loss of $1 at $32.50 with 32,993 shares changing hands, Sagicor Real Estate Fund gained 29 cents and closed at $11.29, while exchanging 2,701 units, Salada Foods lost 37 cents to close at $7.48, with 8,000 units trading, Scotia Group jumped $1.30 to close at $43.30 with 91,178 units changing hands, Seprod lost 50 cents to close at $34 in trading 1,500 units, Supreme Ventures eased 1 cent to close at $7.49 trading of 44,842 shares, Proven Investments closed at 29 US cents trading 42,110 ordinary shares and JMMB Group 7.5% preference share traded 526,200 units at $1.10.
Trading drops for JSE stocks – Friday
Trading was light on the main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Friday with stocks worth less than $12 million trading. The main and US dollar markets closed with just 20 securities changing hands down from 29 on Thursday with one trading in the US dollar market. At the close, 9 stocks advanced and 5 declined.
Trading levels in the main market ended at 827,534 units valued at $10,595,699 compared to 14,040,895 units valued at $147,385,397 at the close on Thursday. Trading in the US dollar market accounted for 32,400 units valued at US$9,396.
The All Jamaica Composite Index fell 248.73 points to close at 259,687.12 and the JSE Market Index lost 226.62 points to finish at 236,604.37. The JSE US dollar market index closed unchanged at 221.11.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading in the main and US dollar markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 7 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 2 with lower offers.
The main market ended trading with an average of 43,554 units valued at $557,668 per security traded, compared to an average of 540,034 units valued at $5,668,669 on Thursday. The average volume and value for the month to date ended at 518,349 units with an average value of $6,907,416 compared with an average of 557,915 units with an average value of $7,436,562 on the previous trading day.
The average volume and value for April ended at 382,748 units with an average value of $5,254,387.
In market activity, Berger Paints fell 33 cents to close at $19.01 in exchanging 4,019 shares, Cable and Wireless lost 2 cents and closed at $1.38, with 85,946 shares changing hands, Caribbean Cement traded 35 cents higher to close at $30 with 4,269 units traded, Carreras rose 20 cents, closing at $83 with an exchange of 6,712 shares, Ciboney gained 4 cents to close at 22 cents, with 136,293 units trading, Grace Kennedy closed at $43, trading 10,384 units. Jamaica Broilers climbed 98 cents and closed at $19.98, with 22,237 shares changing ownership, Jamaica Producers fell 49 cents and closed at $15.50, with an exchange of 1,258 shares, Jamaica Stock Exchange fell 30 cents to close at $7.50 in trading 2,037 shares. JMMB Group closed at $20.50, with 52,945 units being exchanged, 
NCB Financial Group closed at $71.99 with a loss of 1 cent, after trading 9,368 shares, 138 Student Living traded 21,500 shares at $4.49, Portland JSX Fund closed at $10.10 with 31,275 shares changing hands, Radio Jamaica closed at $1.70 after gaining 1 cent, trading 68,244 shares, Sagicor Group closed at $33.50 with trades of 97,466 shares, Sagicor Real Estate Fund gained 1 cents and closed at $11, while exchanging 75,128 units, Sterling Investments gained 15 cents in closing at $16.90 with 1,000 shares being swapped, Scotia Group closed at $42 after rising 49 cents with 30,044 units changing hands, Supreme Ventures rose 10 cents to close at $7.50 trading of 167,409 shares and Proven Investments closed at 29 US cents trading 32,400 ordinary shares.