Trading pressure continued to place an upward push on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange after the market reopened on Monday after closing for the Christmas holiday last week. The market index climbed 42.05 points to 2,636.45, with an even number of stocks advancing and declining after investors exchanged 20 percent fewer shares than on Thursday.
Trading ended with 38 securities changing hands compared to 33 on Thursday and closed with the prices of 13 stocks each, rising and falling and 12 remaining unchanged.
The average PE Ratio ended at 13.9 based on ICInsider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
Trading ended with an exchange of 2,824,415 shares for $7,700,599 compared to 3,548,314 units at $8,469,026 on Thursday. Mailpac led trading with 27.5 percent of total volume for 777,744 shares, followed by Limners and Bards, 14.9 percent, for an exchange of 421,650 units and Jamaican Teas with 12.6 percent after trading 356,419 units.
Trading averaged 74,327 shares at $202,647 versus 107,525 units at $256,637 on Thursday. Trading month to date averages 284,894 units at $689,804, down from 297,615 units at $719,234 on Thursday. November ended with an average of 193,331 units at $566,885.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows three stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and three with lower offers.
At the market close, Access Financial jumped $3.34 to $23.69 trading 18 shares, AMG Packaging rose 5 cents to $1.65 with 3,255 units changing hands, CAC 2000 climbed $2 to $10 with an exchange of 4,010 stocks. Cargo Handlers advanced 51 cents to $7.31 with a transfer of just four shares, Caribbean Flavours slipped 1 cent to $1.67 with 1,017 stock units traded, Caribbean Producers fell 10 cents to $2.79 with 75,228 units passing through the market. Derrimon Trading lost 1 cent to finish at $2.38 with 299,069 stocks changing hands, Elite Diagnostic lost 4 cents to close at $2.95 in exchanging 150 shares, Express Catering dropped 18 cents to $3.59 with a transfer of 19,400 stock units. Fontana gained 8 cents to end at $5.50 with 186,789 units traded, Fosrich rose 10 cents to $4.10, with investors switching 174,500 stock units, General Accident fell 13 cents to $6.05 with 23,709 shares changing hands. GWest rose 3 cents to 73 cents, trading 500 stock units, Honey Bun slipped 5 cents to $5.80 with a transfer of 12,499 units, Jamaican Teas lost 1 cent, trading 356,419 stocks at $1.99. Jetcon Corporation dipped 1 cent to 70 cents with investors switching 108,764 shares, Lasco Distributors advanced 15 cents to $3.22 with 707 units changing hands, Lasco Financial climbed 30 cents to $2.76 with 18,721 stocks passing through the market. 
Lasco Manufacturing closed 1 cent higher at $3.89, trading 36,287 stock units, Lumber Depot declined by 3 cents to settle at $1.56 with a transfer of 1,292 shares, Mailpac Group traded 777,744 shares and lost 3 cents to end at $2.78. Medical Disposables fell 4 cents to $4.20 with investors switching ownership of 80 units, Stationery and Office Supplies slipped 4 cents to $4.50 with 1,908 stock units pass ing through the market, Tropical Battery gained 3 cents to finish at $1.16 with a transfer of 203,686 stocks and tTech advanced 10 cents to $4.30 with 80 shares crossing the exchange.
In the preference segment, CAC 2000 9.5% closed 2 cents higher at $1.12 with 1,000 units changing hands.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
This week’s focus: The long awaited initial public offer of shares by
The top three stocks in the Junior Market with the potential to gain between 220 to 350 percent by March 2021 are Caribbean Producers, followed by Elite Diagnostic and 
The Main Market TOP 10 stocks trade at a PE of 9.3 or 57 percent of the PE of that market.
Trading ended with 33 securities changing hands compared to 40 on Wednesday and ended with the prices of 14 stocks rising, the prices of 10 declining and nine remaining unchanged.
At the close of the market, Access Financial shed 25 cents in ending at $20.35 while exchanging 12,767 shares, Caribbean Cream lost 26 cents to close at $4.20, with 76 units crossing the exchange, Caribbean Flavours shed 1 cent to close at $1.68 trading 4,701 stocks. Caribbean Producers gained 9 cents to close at $2.89 trading 7,504 shares, Consolidated Bakeries carved out a loss of 4 cents to end at $1.35, after owners switched 7,200 stock units, Derrimon Trading rose 9 cents to $2.39, with 497,848 units crossing the market. Elite Diagnostic advanced 13 cents to $2.99 after exchanging 3,386 shares, Everything Fresh rose 4 cents to 69 cents while exchanging 171 stock units, Fontana carved out a gain of 2 cents in closing at $5.42, with 75,906 stocks crossing through the exchange Fosrich declined by 15 cents to $4 while exchanging 32,750 stock units, General Accident increased 19 cents to end at $6.18 with investors swapping 19,873 units, Honey Bun lost 15 cents in closing at $5.85, trading 729 shares. iCreate fell 2 cents to close at 59 cents after 56,731 stock units crossed the market, Iron Rock Insurance increased 3 cents to $3.80 with investors swapping 31,140 units, Jamaican Teas advanced 10 cents in closing at $2 and finishing, with 310,384 stock units changing hands. 
Knutsford Express gained 5 cents to close at $6.70 after trading 13,282 stock units, Lasco Distributors climbed 1 cent to settle at $3.07 with 9,043 shares clearing the market, Lasco Financial carved out a loss of 30 cents to close at $2.46 after exchanging 160,000 shares. Lasco Manufacturing gained 20 cents to close at $3.88, with 48,392 stock units changing hands, Limners and Bards rose 15 cents to $3.03 and traded 221,801 units, Lumber Depot increased 3 cents to $1.59 after finishing trading with 49,500 shares. Mailpac Group increased 2 cents to $2.81, trading 1,089,697 shares, Main Event dropped 41 cents to end at $2.99 with an exchange of 7,589 stocks and Tropical Battery fell 2 cents to $1.13, exchanging 512,488 stock units.
Trading ended with 40 securities changing hands, up from 37 on Tuesday, closing with prices of 15 stocks rising, 18 falling and seven remaining unchanged.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows three stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with a lower offer.
Lasco Financial slipped 1 cent to $2.76 with a transfer of 11,500 stock units, Lasco Manufacturing fell 12 cents to $3.68 with an exchange of 12,000 units, Limners and Bards closed 1 cent higher at $2.88 with 309,488 shares changing hands. Mailpac Group traded 626,578 stocks and increased by 3 cents to settle at $2.79, Main Event jumped 35 cents to $3.40 with 26,037 units passing through the market, Medical Disposables lost 3 cents to finish at $4.24 with investors trading 15,000 shares. SSL Venture rose 6 cents to 57 cents with 250 stock units changing hands, Tropical Battery slipped 1 cent to $1.15 with 389,844 stocks changing hands and tTech lost 1 cent to end at $4.20 with 2,000 shares crossing the exchange.
Trading ended with 37 securities changing hands compared to 35 on Monday and finished with the prices of 15 stocks rising, 13 declining and nine remaining unchanged.
At the close of trading, Access Financial advanced 15 cents to $20.50 with 1,307 shares changing hands, Caribbean Assurance Brokers slipped 4 cents to $1.85 with an exchange of 7,250 units, Caribbean Cream lost 1 cent to settle at $4.49 with a transfer of 1,500 stocks. Caribbean Producers rose 5 cents to $2.75 with 6,865 stock units passing through the market, Derrimon Trading gained 10 cents in an exchange of 142,868 shares to close at $2.40, Dolphin Cove climbed 30 cents to $7.30 with investors switching ownership of 71 units. Express Catering dropped 29 cents to $3.50 trading 33,681 stocks, Fontana ended 1 cent lower at $5.48 with 64,697 stock units changing hands, Fosrich gained 2 cents to finish at $4.20 with a transfer of 32,500 shares. GWest Corporation rose 3 cents to 73 cents with 28,428 stocks crossing the market, Honey Bun advanced 14 cents to $6.10 with an exchange of 3,316 units, iCreate closed 1 cent higher at 64 cents with 74,246 stock units changing hands. Indies Pharma lost 2 cents to settle at $2.70 with a transfer of 69,211 shares, ISP Finance dropped $3.47 to $19.50 with an exchange of 8,500 units, Jamaican Teas traded 487,334 stock units and gained 7 cents to finish at $2. Jetcon Corporation fell 3 cents to 77 cents with 1,300 stocks changing hands, Knutsford Express dropped 20 cents to $6.50 with a transfer of 822 shares, Lasco Distributors exchanged 4,941,741 stock units, increasing by 5 cents to $3.25. 
Lasco Financial rose 2 cents to $2.77 with an exchange of 2,952 units, Lasco Manufacturing increased 5 cents to $3.80 trading 1,130 stock units, Limners and Bards gained 1 cent to end at $2.87 after an exchange of 89,119 shares. Lumber Depot traded 1,636,225 stocks and added 8 cents to settle at $1.56, Mailpac Group fell 6 cents to $2.76 with 250,067 stock units changing hands, Main Event advanced 5 cents to $3.05 in exchanging 4,876 units. SSL Venture lost 6 cents to close at 51 cents with a transfer of 24,635 shares, Tropical Battery slipped 1 cent to $1.16 with 154,479 units changing hands and tTech dropped 9 cents to $4.21 with 37,100 stocks crossing the exchange.
Trading ended with 35 securities changing hands compared to 37 on Friday and ended with prices of 14 stocks rising, 13 declining and eight remaining unchanged.
At the close of the market, Access Financial climbed 3 cents to $20.35 in an exchange of 2,000 shares, AMG Packaging increased 5 cents to $1.60, with 2,450 shares changing hands, Caribbean Cream climbed 31 cents to $4.50 after clearing the market with 98,515 stock units. Caribbean Flavours dipped 3 cents to $1.65 in exchanging 61,396 shares, Caribbean Producers fell 4 cents to $2.70 while exchanging 245,306 stock units, Derrimon Trading rose 9 cents to $2.30, with 473,353 stock units crossing the market. Dolphin Cove gained 1 cent to close at $7 in an exchange of 50,036 shares, Everything Fresh carved out a gain of 7 cents to close at 74 cents, with 8,653 units changing hands, Fontana gained 24 cents to end at $5.49, with 93,040 stocks clearing the exchange. Fosrich fell 2 cents to $4.18 after trading 5,500 shares, General Accident shed 6 cents to end at $5.98 with 137,907 stock units passing through the market, Gwest Corporation declined by 3 cents to 70 cents after 5,585 shares crossed the exchange. Honey Bun shed 6 cents to close at $5.96 after exchanging 81,214 units, iCreate advanced 8 cents to 63 cents in exchanging 990 shares, Indies Pharma gained 11 cents to end at $2.72, with 101,245 stock units changing hands. Iron Rock Insurance increased 15 cents to $3.20 after trading 21,741 shares, Jamaican Teas declined by 12 cents to $1.93, with 108,556 units crossing the exchangechanging hands, Lasco Distributors climbed 4 cents to $3.20 with investors swapping 346,443 units. 
Lasco Manufacturing lost 5 cents to end at $3.75, with the trading of 152,340 units, Limners and Bards carved out a loss of 11 cents to end at $2.86 after 688,265 units crossed the market, Lumber Depot shed 7 cents to settle at $1.48, with 161,941 shares changing hands. Mailpac Group climbed 43 cents to $2.82 with investors swapping 490,563 shares, Paramount Trading advanced 9 cents to $1.44 after exchanging 20,000 stock units, SSL Venture carved out a loss of 2 cents in ending at 57 cents with investors swapping 4,955 units and Tropical Battery dropped 2 cents to end at $1.17, after trading 31,228 stocks.
The Main Market closed lower at the end of the past week having pulled back from last week from the close of the previous week. Against the above out turn, there is just one new addition to the TOP10 at the end of the week but there were some price movements of note during the week.
AMG Packaging and Caribbean Producers fell 7 percent to $1.55 and $2.74, respectively. Lasco Distributors fell 8 percent to $3.16 from $3.55. Lumber Depot rose 12 percent to $1.55 and Jamaican Teas gained 8 percent to $2.05.
The Junior and Main markets are currently trading well below the market average, indicating strong gains ahead. The JSE Main Market ended the week, with an overall PE of 16.8 and the Junior Market 13.7, based on ICInsider.com’s projected 2020-21 earnings. The PE ratio for the Junior Market Top 10 stocks average a mere 7.2 at just 53 percent of the market average. The Main Market TOP 10 stocks trade at a PE of 9.2 or 55 percent of the PE of that market.
IC TOP 10 stocks are likely to deliver the best returns up to March 2021 and ranked in order of potential gains, based on likely gain for each company, taking into account the earnings and PE ratios for the current fiscal year. Expected values will change as stock prices fluctuate and result in movements in and out of the lists weekly. Revisions to earnings per share are ongoing, based on receipt of new information.
At the close of the market, Access Financial gained 1 cent to end at $20.32, with investors swapping 9,809 shares, AMG Packaging lost 9 cents to close at $1.55, after finishing with 20,344 stock units, Blue Power shed 61 cents to close at $2.75, in exchanging 8,293 units. Caribbean Assurance Brokers gained 9 cents to end at $1.89, after trading 5,000 stock units, Caribbean Flavours picked up 1 cent to settle $1.68, with 102,351 shares changing hands, Caribbean Producers ended at $2.74, after gaining 4 cents trading 1,000 units. Derrimon Trading closed 1 cent higher at $2.21, after switching ownership of 749,394 shares, Dolphin Cove rose 19 cents to $6.99 in transferring 200 units, Everything Fresh shed 7 cents to settle at 67 cents, with 37,670 stock units crossing the exchange. Express Catering gained 1 cent to close at $3.79 in exchanging 1,051 units, Fontana fell 24 cents to $5.25 after transferring 283,368 shares, Fosrich advanced 20 cents to $4.20, with the trading of 500 units. General Accident shed 1 cent in closing at $6.04, after an exchange of 141 units, Honey Bun lost 7 cents trading 2,365,434 shares to end at $6.02, iCreate slipped 8 cents to 55 cents, in crossing the exchange with 252,300 tock units. Indies Pharma dipped 9 cents to $2.61, in transferring 155,236 units, Jamaican Teas picked up 1 cent in closing at $2.05, with an exchange of 102,836 shares, Lasco Financial finished 7 cents higher at $2.75, with investors swapping 6,005 units. 
Lasco Manufacturing dropped 8 cents to end at $3.80 after 109,641 stocks crossed the market, Limners and Bards lost 8 cents to $2.97, with an exchange of 221,647 shares, Lumber Depot gained 5 cents after ending at $1.55 trading 265,596 stock units. Mailpac Group declined 45 cents to $2.39, with an exchange of 40,391,268 units, Main Event fell 5 cents to $3 trading 902 shares, SSL Venture rose 4 cents to 59 cents, with 2,000 stocks passing through the market and Tropical Battery lost 1 cent to settle at $1.19 after investors swapped 328,366 shares.
At the close of the market, AMG Packaging gained 9 cents to close at $1.64, after clearing the market with 1,000 units, Cargo Handlers rose 30 cents to settle at $6.80 trading 5,276 stock units, Caribbean Assurance Brokers closed at $1.80 with gains of 5 cents after 63,271 shares crossed the exchange. Caribbean Cream carved out a gain of 9 cents to end at $4.19, with 64,594 shares changing hands, Caribbean Flavours closed 7 cents higher at $1.67, in trading 113,834 shares, Caribbean Producers lost 5 cents to settle at $2.70, after exchanging 174,898 shares. Consolidated Bakeries slipped 1 cent to $1.39 in trading 1,000 units, Derrimon Trading shed 29 cents to settle at $2.20, with 1,194,540 shares changing hands, Elite Diagnostic lost 3 cents trading 25,329 stock units to end at $2.99. Everything Fresh picked up 3 cents to close at 74 cents, after an exchange of 1,000 units, Express Catering gained 28 cents to end at $3.78, with investors swapping 500 units, Fontana closed 24 cents higher at $5.49, with 96,452 shares crossing the exchange. General Accident gained 15 cents in closing at $6.05 trading 655 units, GWest Corporation ended 73 cents, with gains of 7 cents after transferring 1,100 units, Honey Bun rose 4 cents to close at $6.09, with an exchange of 7,951 units. Indies Pharma lost 2 cents to settle at $2.70, after clearing the market with 94,052 shares, Iron Rock Insurance declined by 5 cents to $3.05, with an exchange of 30,000 stock units, Jamaican Teas gained 19 cents to close at $2.04 after transferring 414,656 shares. 
Lasco Manufacturing lost 1 cent to end at $3.88, with 80 units changing hands, Limners and Bards gained 5 cents to settle at $3.05, after trading 116,719 shares, Lumber Depot fell by 6 cents to $1.50, with 1,614,599 shares crossing the market. Mailpac Group lost 1 cent in closing at $2.84 after 298,911 shares changed hands, Main Event gained 5 cents to end at $3.05, with an exchange of 2,903 units, Stationery and Office Supplies rose 79 cents to settle at $4.54, with 213 units crossing the market and Tropical Battery picked up 4 cents to end at $1.20 trading 86,840 shares.
Mailpac Group climbed 22 cents in exchanging 839,236 stock units to end at $2.85, Main Event fell 5 cents to $3 with investors switching ownership of 5,000 shares, Medical Disposables advanced 27 cents to end at $4.27 with the trading of 24,750 units. Paramount Trading dropped 19 cents to $1.35 with 1,000 stocks passing through the market, Stationery and Office Supplies shed 80 cents to end at $3.75 with a transfer of 3,397 stock units and tTech rose 21 cents to $4.30 with 3,550 shares crossing the exchange.