The Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange index rose moderately at the close on Tuesday, despite more stocks falling than rising after investors traded 34 percent more shares than on Monday.
Trading ended with 36 securities changing hands compared to 32 on Monday and concluded with the prices of 11 stocks rising, the prices of 16 declining and nine with prices remaining unchanged.
At the close, the Junior Market Index carved out a gain of 9.27 points to settle at 2,533.75. The average PE Ratio ended at 10.9 based on the IC Insider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
The market closed with an exchange of 8,538,074 shares for $11,671,236 compared to 6,359,921 units at $13,064,680 on Monday. GWest Corporation led trading with 55.2 percent of total volume with an exchange of 4.72 million shares, followed by Tropical Battery with 23.5 percent of the day’s trade or 2 million units and Mailpac Group with 417,939 units for 4.9 percent market share.
Trading ended with an average of 237,169 units at $324,201 in contrast to 198,748 at $408,271 on Monday. For the month to date, the average trade ended in an exchange of 639,080 units at $1,161,047, in comparison to 791,382 units at $1,478,168 on Monday. Trading in September resulted in an average of 119,171 units at $249,355.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows four stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and four with lower offers.
At the close of the market, AMG Packaging rose 1 cent to end at $1.80 trading 21,100 shares, Cargo Handlers gained $1.55 to finish at $7.90 with 10 shares changing hands, Caribbean Flavours dipped 8 cents to settle at $18.42 with an exchange of 35,751 shares. Consolidated Bakeries advanced 14 cents to close at $1.49 with 8,000 shares passing through the market, Derrimon Trading lost 6 cents to end at $2.74 with investors transferring 282,694 stocks units, Everything Fresh finished 1 cent higher at 70 cents with an exchange of 26,000 stocks. Fontana added 2 cents to settle at $5.05 with investors switching ownership of 54,716 stock units, Fosrich shed 40 cents to close at $3.35, with 128,000 units changing hands, General Accident climbed 15 cents to end at $6.50 with 22,718 units passing through the market. GWest Corporation gained 12 cents trading 4,715,757 stocks to finish at 90 cents, iCreate slipped 2 cents to close at 73 cents with investors transferring 19,725 shares, Indies Pharma advanced 17 cents to end at $2.85 with an exchange of 168 stock units. Iron Rock Insurance fell 17 cents to settle at $2.88 with 136 units changing hands, ISP Finance rose 10 cents to finish at $15.10 with 1,015 shares traded, Jamaican Teas climbed 43 cents to close at $5.29 with investors switching ownership of 240,317 stock units. 
Jetcon Corporation dropped 12 cents to end at 79 cents in exchanging 11,660 shares, KLE Group slipped 6 cents to settle at $1.36 with 11,000 stocks passing through the market, Knutsford Express shed 40 cents to finish at $6.50 with investors transferring 7,259 shares. Lasco Distributors lost 11 cents to close at $3.02 with 85,835 shares traded, Lasco Financial fell 5 cents to end at $2.05 with 50,176 stocks changing hands, Lasco Manufacturing slipped 1 cent to $3.49 with 36,554 stocks passing through the market. Limners and Bards lost 10 cents to finish at $2.65 with an exchange of 91,002 stocks, Lumber Depot fell 1 cent trading 155,263 stock units to close at $1.09, Mailpac Group gained 2 cents to end at $2 with 417,939 units passing through the market. Main Event dropped 8 cents to settle at $3.30 with an exchange of 2,950 shares, Medical Disposables lost 4 cents to finish at $4.70 with 1,996 units changing hands and Tropical Battery fell 3 cents to settle at $1.05 with 2,003,876 shares crossing the exchange.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Trading ended with 32 securities changing hands compared to 30 on Friday and closed with the prices of 10 stocks rising, 12 declining and 10 remaining unchanged.
At the close of the market, Access Financial fell $1.88 to $22.12, with 1,000 shares crossing the exchange, AMG Packaging gained 16 cents ending at $1.79, in trading 15,837 stock units, Blue Power shed 50 cents to close at $3.08 after exchanging 1,208 units. Cargo Handlers ended $1.45 lower at $6.35, with investors swapping 400 shares, Caribbean Assurance Brokers lost 14 cents to close at $1.85, after 3,249 stock units crossed the exchange, Caribbean Flavours gained 10 cents to end at $18.50, in exchanging 185,769 shares. Caribbean Producers gained 20 cents to finish at $2.40 trading 28,945 shares, Consolidated Bakeries closed at $1.35, with gains of 23 cents, with 8,414 stock units changing hands, Dolphin Cove finished 10 cents higher at $7, in trading 284 units. Express Catering picked up 3 cents to end at $4.08, after exchanging 3,740 stock units, Fontana lost 2 cents to settle at $5.03 trading 74,649 shares, Fosrich slipped 15 cents to close at $3.75, with 5,054 stock units changing hands. 
General Accident gained 20 cents to close at $6.35, with 1,575 units crossing the market, Honey Bun rose 10 cents to $4.90, after an exchange of 28,625 shares, Indies Pharma lost 22 cents in ending at $2.68, after trading 19,700 stock units. Jamaican Teas lost 14 cents to finish at $4.86, after exchanging 224,378 shares, Lasco Distributors carved out a gain of 2 cents to settle at $3.13, after clearing the market with 1,203 stock units, Lasco Financial picked up 5 cents to finish at $2.10, with 163,405 shares crossing the exchange. Lumber Depot lost 1 cent to settle at $1.10, after clearing the market with 299,442 shares, Mailpac Group fell 2 cents to $1.98, with a transfer of 409,301 shares, Medical Disposables shed 29 cents to close at $4.74, with investors switching ownership of 3,753 stock units and Tropical Battery fell 9 cents to settle at $1.08, in an exchange of 4,460,990 shares.
For a fourth consecutive week, there were no changes in the companies on the IC TOP 10 listings. The markets moved moderately higher to close at their highest levels since mid-August for the junior Market. The Main Market closed at its highest level at the close of September since the beginning of July gave up all the gains on Wednesday and Tuesday to close back at mid-September level on Friday.
This week’s focus: Jamaican Teas came in for increased buying during the past week after the company advised the Jamaica Stock Exchange that the board of directors will meet to determine a new record date for the sub-division of the Company’s shares, following the deferral at the Annual General meeting. The stock traded at $4.30 on September 29 and closed at $4.83 on Wednesday, with 161,040 units changing hands, with the offer at $4.50. The volume ballooned to over one million units on Thursday, with the price hitting $5.55 during the day. The company completed the 2020 fiscal year at the end of September.
The market’s targeted average PE ratio is 20 based on the profits of companies reporting full year’s results, from now to the second quarter in 2021. Both the Junior and Main markets are currently trading well below this level, indicating the potential gains ahead. The JSE Main Market ended the week, with an overall PE of 15.1 and the Junior Market 11.2, based on IC Insider.com’s projected 2020-21 earnings. The average PE ratio of the Junior Market has been slowly rising, with better profit opportunities than the Main Market and narrowing the gap. The PE ratio for the Junior Market Top 10 stocks average a mere 6.1 at just 54 percent to the overall Junior Market average. The Main Market TOP 10 stocks trade at a PE of 8.2 or 54 percent of the PE of the overall market.
The average projected gain for the Junior Market IC TOP 10 stocks is 283 percent, and 153 percent for the JSE Main Market, based on 2020-21 earnings, indicates potentially greater gains in the Junior Market than in the Main Market.
Trading in September ended, with an average of 119,171 units at $249,355.
Jamaican Teas climbed 9 cents to finish at $5 with 399,447 units traded, Jetcon Corporation slid 4 cents to settle at 91 cents with the switching of ownership of 10,700 stock units, Knutsford Express gained 10 cents to end at $6.90 with an exchange of just three shares. Lasco Manufacturing rose 9 cents to close at $3.50 in trading 761 units, Limners and Bards advanced 10 cents to finish at $2.75 with 44,679 shares changing hands, Lumber Depot increased 4 cents to end at $1.11 with 404,255 stocks passing through the market. Mailpac Group slipped 5 cents in trading 1,708,177 stock units to close at $2, Tropical Battery slipped 1 cent to $1.17 with investors switching ownership of 5,436,363 shares, while Stationery and Office Supplies dropped 77 cents to finish at $4.82 with 1,000 stocks crossing the exchange.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows four stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and three with lower offers.
GWest Corporation slipped 3 cents to 78 cents with 12,000 stocks passing through the market. Honey Bun declined 2 cents in exchanging 52,114 shares to close at $4.78, Indies Pharma finished 2 cents higher at $2.95 with investors transferring 151,118 shares, Jamaican Teas rose 8 cents and traded 1,099,894 stock units to end at $4.91. Jetcon Corporation advanced 14 cents to 95 cents with 97,400 stocks changing hands, KLE Group climbed 6 cents to $1.42 with 101 stocks passing through the market, Lasco Distributors gained 3 cents to finish at $3.11 with an exchange of 78,600 units. Lasco Financial fell 5 cents to end at $2.05 with investors switching ownership of 103,001 stock units, Lasco Manufacturing lost 1 cent to settle at $3.41 with 3,429 shares traded, Limner and Bards lost 5 cents to close at $2.65 with 34,783 shares changing hands. Lumber Depot slipped 1 cent to end at $1.07 with 112,855 stock units passing through the market, Mailpac Group declined by 4 cents and exchanged 50,482,009 shares to finish at $2.05, Tropical Battery dropped 11 cents to settle at $1.18 with investors transferring 6,620,968 stocks after the price hit a new high of $1.35. Stationery and Office Supplies jumped $1.39 to end at $5.59 with 5,211 units traded and tTech rose 70 cents to close at $6.70 with 15,048 units crossing the exchange.
Trading ended with 33 securities changing hands, compared to 34 on Tuesday and ended with the prices of 15 stocks rising, the prices of 12 stocks declining, with six, remaining unchanged.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows six stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with lower offers.
Indies Pharma advanced 13 cents to $2.93, in exchanging 278,260 shares, Jamaican Teas jumped 53 cents to $4.83, with 161,040 shares crossing the exchange, Jetcon Corporation shed 18 cents to settle at 81 cents, with a transfer of 288,766 shares. Knutsford Express lost 10 cents to close at $6.80, in trading 3,149 units, Lasco Distributors lost 2 cents, ending at $3.08 with 6,900 stock units passing through the market, Lasco Financial gained 2 cents to settle at $2.10, in exchanging 73,600 shares. Mailpac Group rose 4 cents to end at $2.09 in trading 104,216 shares, Medical Disposables carved out a gain of 1 cent to close at $5.03, with 4,217 stock units crossing the market. Tropical Battery rose 29 cents to end at a new closing high of $1.29, after exchanging 5,764,184 shares on the first day of the being listed after a successful public offer. SSL Venture gained 2 cents to close at 56 cents, in an exchange of 261,459 shares, Stationery and Office Supplies advanced 19 cents to end at $4.20, with four stock units crossing the market and tTech shed 28 cents in closing at $6 after 1,960 stock units changing hands.
At the close of the market, Access Financial lost $2.42 to end at $22 with 807 shares changing hands, AMG Packaging rose 1 cent to finish at $1.80 in an exchange of 5,000 shares, Blue Power dropped 44 cents to settle at $3.16 with 16,500 stock units passing through the market. Caribbean Assurance Brokers gained 16 cents to close at $2.01 with 12,289 stock units traded, Caribbean Flavours fell 2 cents to $18.16 with investors transferring 58,008 shares, Consolidated Bakeries declined 22 cents to settle at $1.12 in an exchange of 7,230 stocks. Derrimon Trading advanced 18 cents to end at $2.93 with 95,492 units passing through the market, Dolphin Cove lost 10 cents to finish at $6.90 with 1,240 shares changing hands, Elite Diagnostic gained 8 cents to close at $3.12 with 2,010 shares traded. Express Catering climbed 55 cents to end at $4.10 with investors switching ownership of 500 shares, Fontana fell 7 cents to settle at $4.73and exchanged 518,595 shares, Fosrich slipped 9 cents to finish at $3.51 with 9,154 stocks passing through the market. General Accident dropped 28 cents to close at $6.30 with 2,200 shares traded, Honey Bun fell 14 cents to end at $4.85 with 12,000 stocks changing hands, Indies Pharma finished 1 cent lower at $2.80 with an exchange of just 5 stock units. 
Jamaican Teas advanced 5 cents to settle at $4.30 with investors transferring 23,549 units, Jetcon Corporation gained 7 cents and traded 9,840 stock units to end at 99 cents, Lasco Financial lost 6 cents to close at $2.08 with 54,000 shares passing through the market. Lumber Depot increased 13 cents to finish at $1.08 with investors switching ownership of 81,959 stocks, Mailpac Group declined 3 cents to settle at $2.05 with an exchange of 133,095 shares, Medical Disposables fell 4 cents to end at $5.02 with 3,476 units changing hands. SSL Venture dropped 20 cents to close at 54 cents with 250 shares passing through the market, Stationery and Office Supplies dived $1.54 to settle at $4.01, trading 36,685 stock units and tTech advanced 28 cents to finish at $6.28 with 9,971 shares crossing the exchange.
Trading ended with 33 securities changing hands compared to 31 on Friday and closed with the prices of nine stocks rising, 11 declining and 13 remaining unchanged.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows one stock ending with the bid higher than the last selling price and two with lower offers.
Honey Bun gained 28 cents to close at $4.99, after clearing the market with 3,435 units, Jamaican Teas shed 34 cents in closing at $4.25, with 279,830 shares changing hands the exchange. Jetcon Corporation lost 1 cent in closing at 92 cents, with 1,070 units changing hands, Knutsford Express gained 10 cents to end at $6.90, trading 1,073 units, Lasco Financial gained 1 cent to end at $2.14, with investors swapping 9,812 stock units. Lasco Manufacturing declined 8 cents to $3.42, after exchanging 36,301 shares, Limners and Bards gained 5 cents to settle at $2.70, trading 98,619 shares, Lumber Depot carved out a loss 10 cents in closing at 95 cents, in exchanging 523,710 shares. Mailpac Group gained 3 cents to settle at $2.08, in trading 581,872 shares and Medical Disposables lost 2 cents to finish at $5.06, with an exchange of 173 units.
The top three stocks in each market saw no change in ranking for the top three Junior Market stocks, with the potential to gain between 295 to 709 percent by March 2021. Caribbean Producers heads the list, followed by Lasco Financial and Elite Diagnostic. The focus on all three is the 2021 fiscal year results, projected to show recovery from the 2020 financial year final numbers. The top three Main Market stocks, with expected gains of 205 to 231 percent, are Radio Jamaica, followed by Berger Paints and JMMB Group.
The targeted average PE ratio of the market is 20 based on the profits of companies reporting full year’s results, from now to the second quarter in 2021. Both the Junior Market and the Main Market are currently trading well below this level, indicating the potential gains ahead. The JSE Main Market ended the week, with an overall PE of 14.8 and the Junior Market 11.2, based on IC Insider.com’s projected 2020-21 earnings. The average PE ratio of the Junior Market has been slowly rising, with better profit opportunities than the Main Market and narrowing the gap. The PE ratio for the Junior Market Top 10 stocks average a mere six at just 54 percent to the average of the overall Junior Market. The Main Market TOP 10 stocks trade at a PE of 8.3 or 56 percent of the PE of the overall market.
The average projected gain for the Junior Market IC TOP 10 stocks is 280 percent, and 151 percent for the JSE Main Market, based on 2020-21 earnings, indicates potentially more significant gains in the Junior Market than in the Main Market.
Trading concluded with 31 securities changing hands compared to 33 on Thursday and ended with 10 stocks rising, the prices of 13 declining and eight with prices remaining unchanged.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows two stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and five with lower offers.
Honey Bun dropped 28 cents to settle at $4.71 with 38,000 stock units changing hands, Indies Pharma slipped 2 cents to $2.81 with 81,707 shares traded, Jamaican Teas climbed 32 cents to end at $4.59 with investors transferring 46,300 stock units. Knutsford Express fell 10 cents to finish at $6.80 with 1,000 stocks passing through the market, Lasco Distributors gained 10 cents to close at $3.10 trading 63,350 shares, Lasco Manufacturing declined 10 cents to close at $3.50 with investors switching ownership of 56,694 shares. Limners and Bards lost 4 cents to end at $2.65 with 48,164 shares changing hands, Lumber Depot fell 4 cents and traded 342,738 stocks to settle at $1.05, Main Event added 1 cent to finish at $3.38 with 3,560 units passing through the market. Medical Disposables gained 8 cents to end at $5.08 with 9,001 stock units traded and Stationery and Office Supplies fell 5 cents to close at $5.55 with 12,340 stock units crossing the exchange.