Trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange in the early morning session, saw stocks rising and just inching out declining ones but with moderate trading taking place.
Trading had all major indices rising, with the main market indices gaining over 1,000 points each and the junior market index climbing 2.24 percent after 75 minutes of trading, on Monday. The average volume traded amounts to 71,293 units per active stock, compared to an average of 59,318 units traded in the mid-morning session on Friday.
A total of 26 securities accounting for 1,853,606 shares changed hands at 10.45 am. A total of 9 stocks gained and 7 declined with Palace Amusement climbing to a $95, with a gain of $9.99 as 402 shares changed hands.
402The market saw the all Jamaica Composite Index climbed 1,293.41 points to 166,114.09, the JSE Market Index gained 1,156.52 points to 149,577.55, the JSE combined index ended with a rise of 1,557.65 points to 160,919.46 and the junior market index rose 47.28 points to 2,161.36.
JSE indices jump in early trading – Monday
JSE ends week with gains – Friday
Carib Cement jumped $4.66 to close at $24.66 on Friday after posting strong profit.
A total of 40 securities changed hands, in all market segments, with 19 stocks rising while 8 declined. Trading amounted to 16,161,211 units valued at $141,833,561, in all markets, with the junior market accounting for 2,723,962 units valued at $12,229,768.
The JSE Market Index gained 282.48 points to end at 148,421.03, the all Jamaica Composite Index rose 315.92 points to 164,820.68 and the JSE combined index jumped 1,900.09 points, to close at 159,361.81 as junior market stocks contributed much to the rise.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading showed 17 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 6 with lower offers.At the end of market activities, Cable & Wireless rose 5 cents to close at $1.35, in trading 5,142,218 units, Carreras ended trading with a loss of 49 cents while trading 2,030 shares, to close at $64.50, 1,834 Investments traded 246,750 shares at $1.13, Jamaica Broilers had 8,350 units changing hands, to close with a gain of 45 cents at $14.50. Jamaica Producers jumped $2.93 to end at $34.93 but only 1,000 shares traded. JMMB Group had 30,236 shares changing hands with a loss of 52 cents to end at $9, Kingston Wharves traded 5,000 shares to close at $11.50 after rising 20 cents,
National Commercial Bank traded 24,476 shares to close at $40, Pulse Investments traded 12,996 units as the price slipped by 50 cents to $2.50. Radio Jamaica traded 1,895,681 shares to gain 7 cents to close at $1.20, Sagicor Group fell 15 cents in ending with 76,203 shares changing hands to close at $22.30 Sagicor Real Estate Fund traded 23,300 shares to close at $10 after losing 20 cents, Scotia Group closed unchanged at $30 with 125,253 units changing hands. Scotia Investments ended at $27.50 with 49,431 shares trading, Supreme Ventures gained 50 cents with 1,007,250 shares trading to end at $5.50. Proven Investments ordinary share traded 43,000 units to gain 2 US cents to close at 19 us cents and JMMB Group 7.5% preference shares traded 91,582 units at $1.05.
Juniors jump 8% on – Friday
Cargo Handlers traded at a new high of $45.
The junior market index jumped sharply by 159.72 points or 8 percent on top of the 72.93 points it gained on Thursday to end at 2,114.08 on Friday. As was the case on Thursday Lasco Distributors and Manufacturing made big impression on the market index. The volume traded ended with 2,723,962 units valued at $12,229,768, changing hands. The market closed with 16 active securities, 9 of which advanced and 3 declined while one stock closed at a 52 weeks’ high.
At the close of trading 4 stocks closed with bids higher than the last selling prices and just 4 ended with lower offers.
At the end of trading in a market with price gains dominated by the Lasco companies, AMG Packaging closed with a loss of 2 cents in trading 5,540 units to end at $12, CAC 2000 traded 1,400 shares 40 cents higher to close at $6.90. Cargo Handlers ended with 100 shares changing hands for a gain of $1.49 and closed at a 52 weeks’ high of $45, Caribbean Cream traded 233,322 units at $4, Caribbean Producers traded 100,000 units to end at $4, Consolidated Bakeries gained 11 cents in trading 7,870 shares to close at $1.21, Dolphin Cove traded 714 shares to close at $13. Iron Rock Insurance 28,000 units on the bid at $3.50, 
ISP Finance had 20,719 units changing hands but lost 5 cents to close at $2.45, Jetcon Corporation had 575,835 shares trading with a gain of 3 cents at $2.50, Key Insurance rose by 5 cents to close at $2.55 after 30,114 shares changed hands, Lasco Distributors jumped $1.29 to end at $7.50 with 528,460 units trading, Lasco Financial gained 4 cents to close at $3.03, with 117,447 shares changing hands. Lasco Manufacturing gained 56 cents with 977,026 shares changing hands to close at $4.70, Medical Disposables closed at $3.10 with 50,000 shares trading with a loss of 5 cents, tTech ended with 47,415 shares changing hands with a gain of 1 cent at $4.18.
236% jump in Carib Cement profit
Caribbean Cement shares traded at $25 after Q 1 results.
Full year 2015 results were a profit after tax of $1.5 million or $1.82 per shares but after accounting for exceptional income and expenses resulting in lower profit than from ongoing operations. Included in the one off cost was redundancy payment of $436 million which h will result in lower payroll cost that should be equivalent to the separation cost in the first year.
Revenues climbed to $3.977 billion from $3.58 billion in the first quarter as domestic sales grew while export declined. Interest cost declined from $65 million in the March 2014 quarter to just $5.6 million in the current quarter. Cost elsewhere fell by $270 million in the quarter to help boost the profit.
Carib Cement paid taxes of $244 million in the quarter according to data in the cash flow but the provision against the quarter’s profit is $118 million. Cement ended up with cash balance at $963 million but invested $203 million of the cash inflows while working capital used up $525 million.
The profit for the quarter brought accumulated losses to $4.9 billion which should be wiped out in 2017 if the current trend of profitability continues.
The stock traded as high as $25 on Friday after results were released.
JSE rise in early trading – Friday
Caribbean Cement climbed to $25 up $4.50 on the back of big jump in first quarter earnings of 98 cents per share. The stock now has a bid at $25 and is offered at $29. Stocks gaining the Junior market resulted in a big 5 percent rise in index as all three Lasco listed companies recorded gains. The main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange had a nice bounce with the rise in Caribbean Cement share price.
The leading trades are Jetcon Corporation traded 575,835 shares at $2.50, Lasco Distributors with 190,500 units at $7.20, Lasco Manufacturing with 112,366 shares at $4.80. Cargo Handlers traded at a new high of $45.
After 75 minutes of trading on Friday, the market had an average of 59,318 units per active stock traded, compared to an average of 83,005 units traded in the mid-morning session on Thursday.
A total of only 22 securities accounting for 1,304,985 shares changed hands at 10.45 am as 8 stocks gained and 2 declined.
The market saw the all Jamaica Composite Index climbed 1,144.38 points to 165,649.14, the JSE Market Index gained 1,023.26 points to 149,161.81, the JSE combined index ended with a rise of 2,056.93 points to 159,518.65 and the junior market index rose 108.01 points to 2,057.22.
$74m pay out by JSE
The Jamaica Stock Exchange will pay $74 million in dividend on May 6, this year. The dividend translates to 53 cents per share. In December last year, the company made a payment of $65.8 million or 47 cents per share following a payment of 53 cents per share in July.
The stock will start trading ex-dividend on April 28, at which date new investors in the stock will not be entitled to the above dividend.
With the price of the stock in the $20 range in 2016, the yield is 2.5% and IC Insider projects that it is with profits for the year set to exceed that of 2015 dividends will be increased thus raising the yield for the year higher.
The company reported earnings for 2015 of $1.25 per share or $175 million, up from only $3 million in 2014. The company’s stock last traded on Wednesday on the Jamaica Stock Exchange at $20.55.
In December 2014, the stock traded at $1.50. The three dividends provide investors who purchased the stock in December 2014 if they held them, with a full pay back of the amount invested, not factoring in taxes.
Volumes up prices down on JSE – Thursday
SVL trades over 20 million shares on Thursday.
Supreme Ventures was the leading trade on the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Thursday with 20 million shares changing hands. The main market indices gave up more ground at the close as the number of active declined from recent trading levels. The all Jamaica Composite and the JSE index dropped just under 1,000 points on Thursday.
A total of 28 securities changed hands, in all market segments with 8 stocks rising while 12 declined. Trading amounted to 31,536,849 units valued at $201,190,464 changing hands, in all markets, 
the junior market accounting for 8,096,759 units valued at $8,096,759.
The JSE Market Index fell 868.35 points to end at 148,138.55, the all Jamaica Composite Index dropped 971.13 points to 164,504.76 and the JSE combined index declined 57.60 points, to close at 157,461.72.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading showed 17 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 6 with lower offers.
At the end of market activities, Cable & Wireless rose by 2 cents to close at $1.30, in trading 117,468 units.
Caribbean Cement rose 89 cents to close at $20 with 2,812 shares changing hands, Carreras ended trading with a loss of $1.01 while trading 103,826 shares, to close at $64.99, Jamaica Broilers had 9,631 units changing hands, to close with a gain of 35 cents at $14.05. JMMB Group had 2,030,315 shares changing hands with a loss of 8 cents to end at $9.52, Kingston Wharves traded 52,190 shares to close at $11.30 after falling 5 cents, Pan Jamaican Investments traded 100,000 units as the price slipped by 58 cents to $89.42. Sagicor Group fell 5 cents in ending with 1,004,310 shares changing hands to close at $22.45 and Supreme Ventures fell 10 cents with 20,005,000 shares trading to end at $5.
Juniors jump on – Thursday
Lasco Distributors dominated trading on the junior market on Thursday.
At the close of trading 7 stocks closed with bids higher than the last selling prices and just 5 ended with lower offers.
At the end of trading, AMG Packaging closed with a loss of 98 cents in trading 960 units to end at $12.02, Caribbean Cream traded 74,315 units at $4, the stock is encountering more selling than buying. Caribbean Producers traded 2,400 units to end at $4, General Accident traded 1,150,656 shares to close at $2.65, ISP Finance had 7,500 units changing hands at $2.50.
Iron Rock Insurance still has 5,003,000 units on the bid at $3.10, while the stock last traded at $3.50. Key Insurance closed at $2.50 after 7,500 shares changed hands, KLE Group traded 155,115 units at $1.40 for a 3 cents loss, Knutsford Express traded 9,415 shares unchanged at $19, Lasco Distributors gained 41 cents to end at $6.21 with 5,469,528 units trading, Lasco Financial gained 4 cents to close at $2.99, with 4,000 shares changing hands. Lasco Manufacturing gained 42 cents with 952,192 shares changing hands to close at $4.14, tTech ended with 9,829 shares changing hands at $4.17 as 2 cents were added and Eppley 10 percent preference share traded 34,120 units at $6.10.
JSE majors down again – Thursday’s
Stocks recorded gains in the Junior market to add to the index as two of the Lasco listed companies recorded gains, but the main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange saw continued losses in the indices. Trading levels were moderate with less stocks trading in the early session than in recent times.
The leading trades are Lasco Distributors with 414,078 units at $6.10, Lasco Manufacturing with 711,631 shares at $4.10 followed by Cable & Wireless with 115,518 at $1.30 and JMMB Group 109,815 shares at $9.50.
Trading saw all major indices falling after 75 minutes of trading on Thursday with an average of 83,005 units per active stock traded, compared to an average of 214,849 units traded in the mid-morning session on Wednesday.
A total of only 18 securities accounting for 1,494,093 shares changed hands at 10.45 am as 7 stocks gained and 6 declined.
The market saw the all Jamaica Composite Index dived 1,190.18 points to 164,285.71, the JSE Market Index dropped 1,064.21 points to 147,942.69, the JSE combined index ending with a fall of 551.98 points to 156,967.34 and the junior market index rose 42.44 points to 1,923.87.
Juniors rise again – Wednesday
Honey Bun fell $3 to close at $13 on Wednesday.
At the close of trading only 3 stocks closed with bids higher than the last selling prices and just 2 ended with lower offers.
At the end of trading, AMG Packaging closed trading with 8,000 units to end at $13, Cargo Handlers hit a new 52 weeks’ high by gaining 52 cents to close with 1,000 units changing hands at $43.51, Caribbean Cream traded 38,648 units to end at $4 after trading down to $3.65 in the morning session. Caribbean Producers traded 4,570 units but gained 7 cents to end at $4, Consolidated Bakeries gained 4 cents with 1,000 shares trading $1.10,
General Accident traded 939,649 shares and rose 15 cents to end at $2.65, Honey Bun fell $3 to close at $13 while 5,898 shares changed hands. Iron Rock Insurance did not trade but had 5,003,000 units on the bid to at $3.10, while the stock last traded at $3.50. Jetcon Corporation fell 3 cents and closed at $2.47 after 61,500 shares changed hands, Lasco Distributors gained 30 cents to end at $5.80 with 216,200 units trading, Lasco Financial fell by 8 cents and closed at $2.95, with 4,000 shares changing hands. Lasco Manufacturing gained 11 cents with 151,325 shares changing hands to close at $3.72 and tTech ended with 5,744 shares changing hands at $4.15 as the price gained 3 cents.