The Main Market indices on the Jamaica Stock Exchange ended the week on Friday, with another round of losses with the market closing down on Friday at the end of a volatile week.
At the close, the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index dropped 2,369.39 points to close at 546,364.42, with a drop of 6,296 points for the week. The JSE Market Index declined 2,098.74 points to 497,578.98, leading to a decline of 5,758 points for the week and the JSE Financial Index lost 0.81 points to 135.51.
The market closed with 50 securities changing hands in the Main and US dollar markets with the prices of 18 advancing, 20 declining and 12 trading firm. The JSE Main Market activity ended with 43 securities accounting 18,625,847 units valued at $90,035,262 in contrast to 28,467,668 units valued at $102,258,217 from 42 securities on Thursday. JMMB Group 7.25% preference share closed at a 52 weeks’ low of $1.45.
Wigton Windfarm dominated trading with 6.5 million shares for 35 percent of total volume, followed by Sagicor Select Financial Fund with 5 million units for 27 percent of the day’s trade and QWI Investments with 2.2 million shares for 12 percent of the market’s volume. The only other stock trading more than one million shares was Sagicor Select Fund – Manufacturing and Distribution, with 1.2 million units.
The Market closed with an average of 433,159 units valued at an average of $2,093,843 for each security traded, in contrast to 662,039 units valued at an average of $2,378,098 on Thursday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 537,214 units valued at $2,21,990 for each security changing hands, compared to 546,633 units valued at $2,234,657 for each security traded. Trading in December resulted in an average of 595,143 units valued at $9,344,514 for each security.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows eight stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and two closing with lower offers. The PE ratio of the market ended at 19.7, while the Main Market ended at 18.8 times the 2019 earnings.
In the prime market, Barita Investments closed 50 cents lower to $72.50, with an exchange of 175,838 units, Berger Paints gained 85 cents to end at $17.85, with 3,139 shares changing hands, Caribbean Cement dropped $2.45, settling at $71 in trading 4,824 shares. Eppley closed 60 cents higher at $15, after transferring 3,675 units, Grace Kennedy slipped $1 to close at $77, in swapping 107,380 shares, Jamaica Broilers closed $2.90 higher to $39 after exchanging 2,050 shares. Jamaica Producers Group gained $2.47 to end at $27 trading 200 units. 
MPC Caribbean Clean Energy advanced $16 to $231, with 100 units changing hands, NCB Financial Group lost $3 in transferring 72,880 shares to close at $190, after trading as low as $175.01, 138 Student Living lost 42 cents to settle at $3.80, in swapping 93,977 shares. PanJam Investment ended at $101, with a gain of 45 cents trading 1,772 shares, Proven Investments declined $1.95 to $48, after 19,016 units changed hands, Pulse Investments closed at $6.50, with a loss of 59 cents in transferring 235,665 shares. Sagicor Real Estate Fund lost 84 cents in swapping 22,301 shares, and ending at $9.05, Scotia Group added $1 to close at $56, with 145,825 shares changing hands, Seprod gained $1.99 and ended at $49.99, after trading 117,955 shares. Supreme Ventures gained $1 to end at 24.00 with 12,840 stock units trading, Sygnus Credit Investments slid to $26.50, after losing 50 cents and transferring 25,616 shares and Wisynco Group dropped $1.25 to end the day’s trade at $22, in swapping 134,384 shares.
Trading in the US dollar market ended with 316,904 units valued at over US$112,316. The market index advanced 12.02 points to close at 247.53. Margaritaville lost 1 US cent in an exchange of 125 units at 34 US cents, Proven Investments gained 2 US cents to close at 34 US cents, after exchanging 311,898 shares, Sygnus Credit Investments traded 1,625 units at 18 US cents, Sterling Investments closed at 3 US cents with 918 units changing hands,
In the preference section of the US dollar market, JMMB Group 5.75% swapped 1,030 units, gaining 2 US cents to end at US$1.52, JMMB Group 6% settled at US$1.05, after rising 5 US cents trading 866 shares and JMMB Group 5.75% lost 30 US cents to settle at US$1.72, after an exchange of 442 units.
Trading picks up on Junior Market – Friday
Trading on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange finished on Friday with 33 securities changing hands, with an increased volume of 4,639,848 units valued at $13,835,204 compared to 3,359,389 units valued at $10,159,585 from 37 securities on Thursday.
At the close of market activities, the prices of 17 securities advanced, 11 declined and 8 remained unchanged, with 33 changing hands, resulting in the Junior Market Index falling by a mere 2.17 points to close at 3,209.01. The market closed, with the average PE Ratio ending at 14 earnings for 2019.
Trading ended with an average of 140,601 units for an average of $419,249 in contrast to 101,800 units for an average of $307,866 on Thursday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to units 168,606 valued at $673,811 and previously 171,324 valued at $698,518. In contrast, December closed with an average of 521,319 shares at $1,344,719 for each security traded.
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 five with lower offers. 
At the close of the market, Access Financial dipped 20 cents in trading 10,601 units at $32.10, AMG Packaging slipped 5 cents in exchanging 1,346,609 units at $2.02, Blue Power ended with a loss of 1 cent at 4.39 with 4,536 stock units changing hands. Caribbean Cream ended market activity exchanging 11,377 shares to close at $3.60 after falling 41 cents, Caribbean Producers climbed 7 cents after an exchange of 24,182 shares at $4.88, Consolidated Bakeries traded 8,000 shares, after rising 5 cents to end at $1.65. Dolphin Cove closed with 3,001 units crossing the market and gained 81 cents to end at $11.61. Elite Diagnostic lost 47 cents with 5,000 units changing hands at $4.38, Everything Fresh closed 1 cent higher at $1.06, with the of trading 352,400 stock units, Express Catering ended with 139,578 shares changing hands, after rising 40 cents to end at $6.50. Fosrich shed 30 cents in trading 21,895 units at $4.10, Fontana closed 14 cents higher at $7.14, with 380,369 stock units changing hands, GWest Corporation closed 1 cent higher at $1.11, in transferring 4,182 stock units. Honey Bun lost 29 cents in trading 63,649 shares to close at $8.01, iCreate climbed 2 cents and exchanged 266,130 shares at 85 cents. 
Indies Pharma gained 18 cents to close at $3.10, with the trading of 51,726 stock units, Iron Rock Insurance exchanged 35,850 units and gained 20 cents to end at $4, Jamaican Teas closed trading of 243,285 units and rose 23 cents to end at $6.88. Jetcon Corporation closed 5 cents higher at $1.45, trading 44,975 stock units, Knutsford Express ended market activity, exchanging 30,250 shares to close at $9.95 after falling 5 cents. Lasco Distributors rose 13 cents to close $3.29, with 85,000 stock units changing hands, Lasco Financial closed 30 cents higher at $4.40, with 29,850 stock units trading. Lasco Manufacturing climbed 5 cents and exchanged 21,300 shares at $4.16, Limners and Bards gained 25 cents and exchanged 87,009 shares at $3, Mailpac Group lost 5 cents in trading 332,699 shares to close at $2.05. Main Event ended 33 cents higher at $6.40, with 5,570 stock units crossing the exchange, Paramount Trading fell 3 cents in trading of 237,730 units at $1.70 and SSL Venture lost 4 cents in transferring 121,000 units at $1.20.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place.
JSE Main Market enjoys bounce
Grace Kennedy put on $7 to recover from a big drop on Wednesday, but Scotia Group dropped $2.95 and, along with sixteen other rising stocks, helped to push the JSE Main Market Index up 3,600 points.
Market activity resulted in the primary indices regaining almost half of the ground lost on Wednesday. At the close, the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index jumped 4,003.98 points to close at 548,733.81. The JSE Market Index climbed 3,628.22 points to 499,677.72 and the JSE Financial Index rose 1.55 points to 136.32.
The market closed with 47 securities changing hands in the Main and US dollar markets with the prices of 18 stocks advancing, 16 declining and 13 trading firm. The JSE Main Market activity ended with 42 securities accounting for 28,467,668 units valued at $102,258,217 in contrast to 49,953,294 units valued at $104,735,667 from 42 securities on Wednesday.
Wigton Windfarm dominated trading with 17.6 million shares for 62 percent of total volume, followed by Sagicor Select Financial Fund with 6.3 million units for 22 percent of the day’s trade and QWI Investments with 1.1 million shares for 4 percent of the market’s volume.
The Market closed with an average of 662,039 units, valued at an average of $2,378,098 for each security traded, in contrast to 1,218,373 units valued at an average of $2,554,528 on Wednesday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 546,633 units valued at $2,234,657 for each security changing hands, compared to 535,146 units valued at $2,218,923 for each security traded. Trading in December resulted in an average of 595,143 units valued at $9,344,514 for each security.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows six stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and eight closing with lower offers. The PE ratio of the market ended at 19.5, while the Main Market ended at 18.7 times the 2019 earnings.
In the prime market, Barita Investments lost $1 to close at $73, with 3,100 shares changing hands, Berger Paints gained 50 cents to settle at $17 trading 884 units, Grace Kennedy jumped $7 to close at $78, after swapping 112,533 stock units. Jamaica Producers Group dropped 97 cents to end at $24.53, in exchanging 3,752 shares, JMMB Group closed $1.70 higher to $48.45 with an exchange of 196,144 units, Mayberry Jamaican Equities lost 55 cents to settle at $11.30 in trading 56,800 units. 
NCB Financial Group declined by 50 cents to close at $193, in an exchange of 74,576 shares, Sagicor Group climbed $1.80 to $70.80, in swapping 9,434 shares, Scotia Group ended $2.95 down at $55, with 34,209 shares changing hands, Seprod slipped 94 cents and closed at $48, in trading 35,213 shares. Supreme Ventures slid to $23, after a loss of $2 in transferring 147,830 shares, Victoria Mutual Investments closed 50 cents lower at $10.50, with an exchange of 297,116 shares and Wisynco Group gained $1.25 to end at $23.25, in swapping 188,582 shares. In the preference sector, JMMB Group 7.25% preference share lost 39 cents in closing at $1.59 with just 535 units changing hands.
Trading in the US dollar market ended with 223,639 units valued at over US$55,813. The market index advanced 3.06 points to close at 235.51. Margaritaville Turks exchanged 122,500 shares at 35 US cents after rising a fraction of a cent. Sygnus Credit Investments gained 3.7 US cents trading 56,225 shares to end at 18 US cents, Sterling Investments closed at 3 US cents with 36,382 units changing hands. Productive Business Solution rose 5 US cents to 75 US cents, with a transfer of 123 units and Proven Investments lost half of a cent to end at 32 US cents while exchanging 8,409 shares.
Junior market loses 4% for 2020
Trading on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange closed on Thursday with the Junior Market Index shedding another 34.24 points to close at 3,211.18, bringing the year’s loss to 4 percent as declining stocks edged out advancing ones.
At the close of market activities, the prices of 12 securities advanced, 14 declined and 7 remained unchanged, with 33 stocks changing hands, resulting in an exchange of 3,359,389 units valued at $10,159,585 compared to 6,024,104 units valued at $19,766,505 from 37 securities on Wednesday.
At the close of market activities, the market’s average PE Ratio ended at 14 earnings for 2019.
Trading ended with an average of 101,800 units for an average of $307,866 in contrast to 162,814 units for an average of $534,230 on Wednesday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to units 171,324 valued at $698,518 and previously 178,797 valued at $740,510. In contrast, December closed with an average of 521,319 shares at $1,344,719 for each security traded.
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 one with a lower offer.
At the close of the market, Access Financial ended trading with 52,600 shares, after rising 20 cents to end at $32.30, AMG Packaging ended with a loss of 1 cent at $2.07 with 98,000 stock units changing hand, Blue Power closed 10 cents higher at $4.40, with swapping of 19,241 stock units. CAC 2000 climbed 50 cents and exchanged 5,000 shares at $13.50, Caribbean Cream closed with a loss of 29 cents at $4.01, in exchanging of 450 shares, Consolidated Bakeries traded 4,500 shares and declined 15 cents to settle at $1.60. Dolphin Cove dipped 95 cents in trading, just 100 units at $10.80. Derrimon Trading ended with a loss of 1 cent at $2.58 with 35,207 stock units changing hands, Elite Diagnostic fell 3 cents in trading of 38,492 units at $4.85. Everything Fresh closed with 18,089 units crossing the exchange and gained 4 cents to end at $1.05, Express Catering traded of 1,774 units and gained 10 cents to end at $6.10, Fosrich exchanged 193,478 shares, after rising 10 cents to end at $4.40. General Accident closed 75 cents higher to $6.75, with 5,520 stock units changing hands, GWest Corporation closed trading of 98,919 units and gained 4 cents to end at $1.10, 
Honey Bun traded 1,992 units and declined 20 cents to settle at $8.30. iCreate closed 3 cents higher at 83 cents, with 63,807 stock units crossing the exchange, Jamaican Teas lost 35 cents in trading 79,655 units to close at $6.65, Jetcon Corporation dropped 20 cents in trading of 91,678 units at $1.40. Lasco Distributors closed with 214,115 shares changing hands, after rising 5 cents to end at $3.16, Lasco Financial shed 25 cents in trading of 4,578 units at $4.10, Lasco Manufacturing declined by 21 cents to settle at $4.11 after units 64,197 passed through the market. Limners and Bards closed with a loss of 15 cents at $2.75, after swapping 108,276 shares, Lumber Depot fell 4 cents in trading of 1,508,978 units at $1.61. Main Event closed 3 cents higher at $6.07, with an exchange of 3,917 stock units, Paramount Trading closed 1 cent higher at $1.73, with the swapping of 21,600 stock units and SSL Venture ended with a loss of 1 cent at 1.24 with 830 stock units changing hands.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place.
Junior Market dips again Wednesday
The Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange slipped again on Wednesday with the market Index falling 10.92 points to end at 3,245.42 as prices of 13 securities advanced, 14 declined and 10 remained unchanged.
The number of securities changing hands rose to 37, up from 33 on Tuesday and resulted in an exchange of 6,024,104 units valued at $19,766,505 compared to 3,923,066 units valued at $17,832,838 on Tuesday.
At the close of market activities, the market’s average PE Ratio remained at 14.2 earnings for 2019.
Trading ended with an average of 162,814 units for an average of $534,230 in contrast to 118,881 units for an average of $540,389 on Tuesday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to units 178,797 valued at $740,510 and previously 180,987 valued at $768,779. In contrast, December closed with an average of 521,319 shares at $1,344,719 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 two with a lower offer.
At the close of the market, AMG Packaging closed 8 cents higher at $2.08, with 28,370 stock units changing hands, Blue Power dipped 20 cents in trading 9,203 units at $4.30, Caribbean Cream climbed 30 cents and exchanged 1,000 shares to end at $4.30. Caribbean Flavours closed trading of 300 units and gained 2 cents to finish at $15.02, Cargo Handlers climbed $1 to settle at $9 with 950 shares changing hands, Caribbean Producers gained 1 cent to end at $4.81, with an exchange of 7,405 shares. Consolidated Bakeries dipped 15 cents trading of 4,358 units to close at $1.75, Derrimon Trading climbed 9 cents and exchanged 289,096 shares at $2.59, Everything Fresh shed 9 cents in transferring 82,300 units at $1.01. Express Catering lost 25 cents in trading 1,745 units at $6, Fosrich lost 10 cents with 25,951 units changing hands at $4.30, General Accident lost 44 cents in swapping 51,047 units at $6. GWest Corporation fell 4 cents trading 52,801 shares to close at $1.06, Honey Bun ended with 204,528 shares crossing the exchange, after rising 35 cents to close at $8.50, iCreate closed trading of 86,890 units with a gain of 5 cents to end at 80 cents. Iron Rock Insurance declined 20 cents to settle at $3.80 with an exchange of 1,500 shares, 
ISP Finance climbed 50 cents in exchanging just one share at $29.50, Jamaican Teas dipped 29 cents in trading 801,148 units to end at $7, Key Insurance dipped 10 cents in transferring 2,184 units at $3.80. Lasco Distributors lost 2 cents trading 626,778 shares to close at $3.11, Lasco Financial ended swapping with 4,428 shares, after rising 25 cents to finish at $4.35, Lasco Manufacturing closed 7 cents higher at $4.32, with the trading of 12,506 stock units. Limners and Bards lost 10 cents in exchanging 25,369 units at $2.90, Lumber Depot climbed 12 cents and traded 736,293 shares at $1.65, Mailpac Group closed 2 cents higher at $2.10, with 2,647,671 stock units trading. SSL Venture shed 9 cents in exchanging 6,500 units at $1.25 and Stationery and Office Supplies lost 50 cents in transferring 22,300 shares to close at $10.15.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place.
JSE Main Market plunged – Wednesday
NCB Financial Montego Bay branch
Prices of Grace Kennedy and NCB Financial Group suffered sharp declines followed by Jamaica Broilers and Kingston Wharves and helped to knock several thousand points off the major indices of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Wednesday.
At the close, the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index plummeted 9,959.24 points to close at 544,729.83, the JSE Market Index plunged 9,002.01 points to 496,049.50 and the JSE Financial Index declined 2.42 points to 134.77.
The market closed with 46 securities changing hands in the Main and US dollar markets with the prices of 13 advancing, 21 declining and 12 trading firm. The JSE Main Market activity ended with 41 securities accounting for 49,953,294 units at $104,735,667 in contrast to 25,370,029 units valued at $66,307,015 from 36 securities on Tuesday.
Sagicor Select Financial Fund dominated trading with 36.3 million shares for 73 percent of total volume, followed by JMMB Group 7.5% with 5 million units for 10 percent of the day’s trade, and Wigton Windfarm with 2.9 million shares for 6 percent of the market’s volume. 
Other stocks trading more than one million units were Sagicor Select Manufacturing & Distribution Fund with 2.2 million shares and QWI Investments with 1.7 million units.
The Market closed with an average of 1,218,373 units valued at an average of $2,554,528 for each security traded, in contrast to 704,723 units for $1,841,862 on Tuesday for each security changing hands. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 535,146 units for $2,218,923 for each security crossing the exchange, compared to 463,503 units valued at $2,179,721 for each security traded. Trading in December resulted in an average of 595,143 units valued at $9,344,514 for each security.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows six stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and two closing with lower offers. The PE ratio of the market ended at 18.7, while the Main Market ended at 19.4 times the 2019 earnings.
In the prime market, Barita Investments gained 50 cents to settle at $74 trading 4,241 units, Caribbean Cement climbed $4.45 to end at $73.45, with 29,398 shares changing hands, Eppley Caribbean Property Fund closed $1 higher to $37.02 after transferring 610 shares. Grace Kennedy dropped $5.01 to $71 in exchanging 20,194 shares, Jamaica Broilers closed $2.79 lower to $36.11, after swapping 10,149 shares. Jamaica Producers Group climbed $1.49 to settle at $25.50, in trading 2,247 shares, 
JMMB Group lost $1.25 to close at $46.75, with 95,804 units changing hands. Kingston Wharves ended at $56.02, after losing $2.48 in trading 1,501 shares, Mayberry Jamaican Equities gained 54 cents to close at $11.85, in swapping 9,302 units, NCB Financial Group tumbled to $193.50, with a loss of $4.50 after transferring 97,143 shares. PanJam Investment closed $1.50 lower to $100.50 while exchanging 2,500 units, Pulse Investments gained 55 cents to close at $7, with 22,670 units changing hands. Sagicor Group lost $1 to end at $69, in swapping 52,139 shares, Seprod closed $1.06 lower to $48.94 trading 12,584 shares, Sygnus Credit Investments gained 50 cents in transferring 38,791, to end at $27. Victoria Mutual Investments climbed $1 to a record $11, with an exchange of 341,192 shares and Wisynco Group closed 50 cents lower to $22 in swapping 319,531 shares.
Trading in the US dollar market ended with 220,522 units valued US$77,797. The market index lost 1.49 points to close at 232.45. Proven Investments traded 104,624 units, gaining half of 1 US cent to close at 0.325 US cents, Sterling Investments swapped 10,000 units at 3 US cents and Sygnus Credit Investments lost 3.7 US cents in exchanging 73,431 shares to end at 14.3 US cents. JMMB Group 6% preference closed at US$1, after falling just under half of one US cent in trading 32,467 shares.
More Gains for JSE Main Market
Main Market activity on the Jamaica Stock Exchange resulted in more gains for the major indices on Tuesday, but with declining stocks edging out advancing ones.
At the close, the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index advanced 1,603.82 points to close at 554,689.07, the JSE Market Index gained 1,368.73 points to 505,051.51 and the JSE Financial Index added 0.86 points to end at 137.19.
The market closed with 42 securities changing hands in the Main and US dollar markets with the prices of 16 stocks advancing, 18 declining and 8 trading firm. The JSE Main Market activity ended with 36 securities accounting for 25,370,029 units valued at $66,307,015 in contrast to 12,661,713 units valued at $111,971,239 from 47 securities on Monday.
Sagicor Select Financial Fund dominated trading with 16.9 million shares for 67 percent of total volume, followed by Wigton Windfarm with 4.1 million units for 16 percent of the day’s trade, and Sagicor Select Manufacturing & Distribution with 1.9 million shares for 7 percent of the market’s volume.
The Market closed with an average of 704,723 units valued $1,841,862 units for each security traded, in contrast to 301,469 units valued at an average of $2,665,982 on Monday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 463,503 units valued at $2,179,721 for each security changing hands, compared to 439,042 units valued at $2,218,333 for each security traded. Trading in December resulted in an average of 595,143 units valued at $9,344,514 for each security.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows ten stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and two securities closing with lower offers. The PE ratio of the market ended at 19.4, while the Main Market ended at 18.7 times the 2019 earnings.
In the prime market, Caribbean Cement dropped $4.50 to end at $69, with an exchange of 21,839 shares, Eppley gained 60 cents to close at $14.40 trading 5,607 shares, Grace Kennedy lost 99 cents exchanging 28,130 shares to end at $76.01, Jamaica Broilers closed 50 cents lower to $38.90, after swapping 8,915 shares. Jamaica Producers dropped $2.39 to settle at $24.01, with an exchange of 14,000 shares, Jamaica Stock Exchange climbed 90 cents transferring 150,186 units to end at $28.85, JMMB Group closed $2 higher to $48 in trading 106,771 units. Mayberry Investments ended at $8.50, after losing 50 cents with 21,947 shares changing hands, Mayberry Jamaican Equities closed 89 cents lower at $11.31, in swapping 4,158 units, NCB Financial Group gained $3 to settle at $198, after transferring 23,644 shares. PanJam Investment closed $2 higher at $102 after trading just 364 units, Pulse Investments lost 44 cents to close at $6.45, with 122,736 units changing hands. 
Sagicor Group gained 40 cents to end at $70 in swapping 50,866 shares, Scotia Group advanced $3 to $58 in exchanging 58,212 shares and Supreme Ventures closed with a loss of 50 cents to end at $25, in swapping 10,227 shares.
Trading in the US dollar market ended with 84,352 units valued at over US$42,656. The market index advanced 8.56 points to close at 238.40. Margaritaville closed at 34.99 US cents, with 425 units changing hands, Proven Investments traded 58,581 units, in losing 1 US cent to close at 32 US cents. Sygnus Credit Investments ended with 8,800 shares changing hands at 18 US cents, Sterling Investments closed at 3 US cents after exchanging 3,458 units. JMMB Group 5.75% preference share traded 8,731 units at US$2.02 and JMMB Group 6% preference share traded 4,357 units at US$1.04.
Junior Market slips on rising stocks
The Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange closed on Tuesday with 33 securities changing hands, resulting in 15 securities advancing, 8 declining and 10 remaining unchanged.
The Junior Market Index declined 6.49 points to close at 3,256.34 and the market’s average PE Ratio ended the day at 14.2 earnings for 2019.
Market activity close with an exchange of 3,923,066 units valued at $17,832,838 compared to 2,705,269 units valued at $10,296,689 from 34 companies on Monday.
Trading ended with an average of 118,881 units for an average of $540,389 in contrast to 79,567 units for an average of $302,844 on Monday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to units 180,987 valued at $768,779 and previously 189,635 valued at $800,580. In contrast, December closed with an average of 521,319 shares at $1,344,719 for each security traded.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows seven stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with a lower offer.
At the close of the market, Access Financial gained $1.60 to end at $32.10, in trading 10,867 shares, AMG Packaging declined by 20 cents to settle at $2, after exchanging 204,558 stock units, 
Consolidated Bakeries rose 10 cents with a transfer of 300 units at $1.90, Dolphin Cove lost 5 cents in trading 217 shares to close at $11.75. Derrimon Trading dipped 5 cents in the trading of 2,538 units at $2.50, Everything Fresh ended with 14,500 shares changing hands, after rising 3 cents to end at $1.10, Express Catering lost 5 cents in the trading of 4,876 units at $6.25. Fosrich lost 6 cents in trading 59,940 shares to close at $4.40, General Accident climbed 24 cents to close at $6.44, with 3,000 stock units crossing the exchange, GWest Corporation closed 3 cents higher at $1.10, trading 30,858 stock units. Honey Bun climbed 85 cents and exchanged 26,155 shares at $8.15, iCreate gained 1 cent to end at 75 cents, trading 193,406 shares, Indies Pharma fell 8 cents in trading of 190,360 units at $2.92, Jamaican Teas lost 61 cents in exchanging 874,330 shares to close at $7.29. Jetcon Corporation ended trading with 102,054 shares, after rising 10 cents to end at $1.60, Key Insurance closed trading of 200 units and gained 30 cents to end at $3.90, 
KLE Group ended with 8,977 shares changing hands, after rising 4 cents to end at $2.04. Knutsford Express climbed 1 cent, with an exchange of 578 shares at $10, Lasco Financial closed with a loss of 16 cents at $4.10, in swapping of 28,880 shares, Lasco Manufacturing lost 35 cents trading 44,141 units at $4.25. Lumber Depot closed 1 cent higher at $1.53, with 158,203 stock units trading, MailPac Group ended with 591,022 shares crossing the exchange, after rising 3 cents to end at $2.08. Main Event exchanged 23,894 stock units after rising 4 cents to close at $6.04, Paramount Trading shed 18 cents in trading of 5,000 units at $1.72 and Stationery and Office Supplies gained 15 cents in exchanging 5,317 shares to close at $10.65.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place.
Modest gains for JSE majors
Jamaica Stock Exchange.
The Main Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange suffered a sharp increase in the number of stocks declining, with the leading indices enjoying marginal gains on Monday, following the tumultuous dive on Friday.
At the close, the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index advanced 424.97 points to close at 553,085.25, the JSE Market Index gained 346.27 points to 503,682.78, and the JSE Financial Index rose 0.30 points to 136.33.
The market closed with 47 securities changing hands in the Main and US dollar markets with the prices of 10 advancing, 24 declining and 12 trading firm. The JSE Main Market activity ended with 38 securities accounting for 12,661,713 units valued at $111,971,239 in contrast to 28,514,298 units valued at $143,131,830 from 38 securities on Friday.
Wigton Windfarm dominated trading with 4.1 million shares for 33 percent of total volume. Sagicor Select Financial Fund followed with 2.6 million units for 21 percent of the day’s trade and Sagicor Select Manufacturing & Distribution with 1.4 million shares for 11 percent of the market’s volume.
The Market closed with an average of 301,469 units valued at an average of $2,665,982 for each security traded, in contrast to 750,376 units valued at an average of $3,766,627 on Friday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 439,042 units valued at 2,218,333 for each security changing hands, compared to 457,502 units valued at $2,149,464 for each security traded. Trading in December resulted in an average of 595,143 units valued at $9,344,514 for each security.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows ten stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and two with lower offers. The PE ratio of the market ended at 19.5, while the Main Market ended at 18.7 times the 2019 earnings.
In the prime market, Barita Investments lost 35 cents, in ending at $73.50 and trading 9,963 units, Berger Paints settled at $16.51, after losing 49 cents exchanging 2,300 shares, Caribbean Cement dropped $1.50 to end at $73.50, with 108,257 stock units changing hands. Eppley Caribbean Property Fund closed $4.49 lower to $36.01 after transferring just 1,577 shares, Grace Kennedy gained $1 trading 319,335 units to end at $77, Jamaica Broilers closed at $39.40, with gains of 40 cents in swapping 42,036 stock units. Jamaica Producers Group dropped $1.06, falling to $26.40 with an exchange of 2,336 shares, JMMB Group closed $2.39 lower at $46 in trading 468,667 units. Kingston Wharves ended at $58.50, after losing $2.40 exchanging 12,340 shares, MPC Caribbean Clean Energy settled at $215, having gained $5 with 100 units trading. 
NCB Financial Group declined $3.50 to $195, after falling $3.50 transferring 44,755 shares, Pulse Investments added 44 cents to close at $6.89, with 361,956 units changing hands, Sagicor Group lost 40 cents to end at $69.60 in swapping 68,386 shares. Salada Foods gained $2 to close at $32, with an exchange of 10,716 units, Scotia Group rose $3.94 to $55, after trading 17,152 shares, Seprod lost 90 cents to close at $50, with 26,085 units changing hands. Sygnus Credit Investments lost 50 cents to settle at $26.50 in swapping 49,904 shares, Wisynco Group ended 50 cents higher at $22.50, with an exchange of 281,294 shares and in the preference sector, 138 Student Living lost 50 cents in trading 100 stock units to close at $5.50.
Trading in the US dollar market ended with 32,903 units valued at US$11,906. The market index advanced 8.56 points to close at 238.40. Proven Investments traded 20,698 units, after losing 2 US cents to close at 33 US cents. Sygnus Credit Investments gained 4 US cents with 8,700 shares changing hands and ended at a record high of 18 US cents and Sterling Investments ended at 3 US cents, with 200 units changing hands. JMMB Group 6% preference share lost 1 US cent to close at US$1.04 while exchanging 3,305 units.
Junior Market trading slips – Monday
Trading on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange ended on Monday with 34 securities changing hands, resulting in an exchange of 2,705,269 units valued at $10,296,689 compared to 13,086,482 units amounting to $78,746,137 from 30 companies on Friday.
At the close of market activities, the prices of 15 securities advanced, 13 declined and 6 remained unchanged. The Junior Market Index fell 22.53 points to close at 3,262.83 and the market’s average PE Ratio ended the day at 13.9 earnings for 2019.
Trading ended with an average of 79,567 units for an average of $302,844 in contrast to 436,216 units for an average of $2,624,871 on Friday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to units 189,635 valued at $800,580 and previously 208,070 valued at $883.944. In contrast, December closed with an average of 521,319 shares at $1,344,719 for each security traded.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice two bid-offer indicator reading shows seven stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and two with lower offers.
At the close of the market, Access Financial closed 50 cents higher at $30.50, with 1,100 stock units crossing the exchange, Blue Power declined 50 cents in trading of 21,110 units at $4.50, Cargo Handlers fell $1.50 trading of 23,803 units at $8. Caribbean Producers ended market activity exchanging 199,750 shares to close at $4.80 after falling 20 cents, Consolidated Bakeries traded 20,000 units and gained 11 cents to end at $1.80, Dolphin Cove gained $1 to end at $11.80 with 10,388 stock units trading. Derrimon Trading fell 3 cents with 9,565 units changing hands at $2.55, Everything Fresh climbed 3 cents in exchanging 6,914 shares at $1.07, Fontana rose 40 cents trading 34,132 stock units at $7, Fosrich gained 9 cents and exchanged 134,721 shares at $4.46. General Accident closed with a loss of 25 cents at $6.20, after swapping of 36,453 shares, GWest shed 18 cents in trading of 35,310 units at $1.07, Honey Bun closed with a loss of 80 cents at $7.30, after swapping of 121,550 shares, iCreate ended with a loss of 1 cent at 74 cents with 48,160 stock units changing hands. Indies Pharma declined 19 cents to settle at $3 with 53,342 units crossing the exchange, Jamaican Teas ended trading with 219,731 shares, after rising 50 cents to end at $7.90. Jetcon Corporation fell 20 cents with an exchange of 15,000 units at $1.50, Key Insurance closed 10 cents higher at $3.60, with 37,170 stock units trading, Knutsford Express declined 61 cents to settle at $9.99 after trading 19,746 shares. 
Lasco Distributors closed with 62,097 units hanging hands and rose 7 cents to end at $3.13, Lasco Financial ended with a loss of 1 cent at $4.26 with 18,327 stock units changing hands, Lasco Manufacturing closed 10 cents higher at $4.60, with 218,213 stock units trading. Lumber Depot closed with an exchange of 531,327 units and gained 2 cents to end at $1.52, Mailpac Group fell 9 cents to end at $2.05, after swapping of 310,503 shares, Main Event closed 84 cents higher at $6.04, with 5,000 stock units trading. Medical Disposables ended trading of 200 shares, after rising 30 cents to end at $7, Paramount Trading closed with 8,600 units changing hands, after rising 15 cents to end at $1.90 and SSL Venture traded 11,500 stock units and rose 3 cents to end at $1.34.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place.
