The Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange closed on Tuesday, with the market index just inching higher after advancing stocks edged out declining ones after investors traded 36 percent fewer shares than on Monday.
Trading ended with 27 securities changing hands compared to 34 on Monday and finished with 12 stocks rising, the prices of 11 shares declining and four remaining unchanged.
At the close, the Junior Market Index carved out a gain of a mere 2 points to settle at 2,542.11, the average PE Ratio of the market ended at 10.3 based on IC Insider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
The market closed with an exchange of 3,067,663 shares for $10,483,436 compared to 4,784,350 units at $13,556,616 on Monday.
Mailpac Group led trading with 1.16 million shares for 37.7 percent of total volume followed by General Accident with 757,455 units for 24.7 percent of the day’s trade and Everything Fresh with 404,909 units for 13.2 percent market share.
Trading ended with an average of 113,617 units at $388,275 in contrast to 140,716 at $398,724 on Monday. The average trade for the month to date resulted in an exchange of 135,068 units at $388,781, in comparison to 136,907 units at $388,825 on Monday. Trading in July resulted in an average of 248,153 units at $668,727 changing hands.
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.
At the close of the market, Access Financial rose 45 cents to end at $23 with an exchange of 8,127 shares, Cargo Handlers lost 77 cents to end at $6.53 while exchanging 3,500 stock units, Caribbean Cream climbed 39 cents to close at $4.50 trading 20,800 stock units. Caribbean Flavours gained $1.50 after ending at $14.50 and crossing the exchange, with 25,003 stock units, Derrimon Trading increased by 3 cents to $2.53, with 787 stock units clearing the market, Everything Fresh rose 2 cents to settle at 68 cents with 404,909 stocks changing hands. Fontana carved out a loss 3 cents to close at $4.95 and finishing trading with 62,789 shares, Fosrich declined by 5 cents to end at $3.85 with an exchange of 48,500 units, Honey Bun carved out a gain of 14 cents to end at $5.09, with 5,503 stocks clearing the market. create carved out a loss 3 cents in ending at 65 cents after exchanging 21,993 units, Indies Pharma lost 13 cents to close at $2.67 with investors switching ownership of 33,461 stock units, Iron Rock Insurance gained 20 cents to end at $3.20 trading 45,433 stocks. Jamaican Teas climbed 20 cents in closing at $4.85 while exchanging 203,821 stock units, 
Jetcon Corporation shed 9 cents to end at 80 cents after clearing the market with 75,627 stock units, Lasco Distributors advanced by 7 cents to close at $3.07 after exchanging 42,319 units. Lasco Financial carved out a loss 9 cents and ended at $2.26, with 29,627 units passing through the market, Lasco Manufacturing lost 7 cents in closing at $3.90, finishing trading with 11,367 stocks, Limners and Bards carved out a loss 13 cents in closing at $2.67 after exchanging 42,709 units. Mailpac Group dropped 6 cents to end at $1.96 in trading 1,155,107 units, Medical Disposables gained 10 cents in ending at $5 after 50 units crossed the exchange, Paramount Trading dipped by 9 cents in closing at $1.70, with 48,800 stock units changing hands. Stationery and Office Supplies rose 1 cent to $5.61, trading 2,485 shares and tTech increased 59 cents to $5.34, with 35 stocks crossing the exchange.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Trading ended with 34 securities changing hands compared to 27 on Friday, with the prices of seven stocks rising, the prices of 19 declining and eight remaining unchanged. At the close of the market, the average PE Ratio of the market ended
At the close of the market, Access Financial gained 3 cents ending at $22.55 with investors trading 3,980 stock units, AMG Packaging increased 1 cent to end at $1.71 while exchanging 306 shares, Cargo Handlers carved out a loss 4 cents to end at $7.30 in an exchange of 700 units. Caribbean Assurance Brokers lost 12 cents to end at $1.92, with 10,047 units changing hands, Caribbean Cream gained 11 cents to end at $4.11 after trading 1,225 stocks, Caribbean Flavours jumped $1.50 to settle at $13, with 108,817 shares passing through the market. Consolidated Bakeries dropped by 17 cents to $1.38 after exchanging 5,000 stock units, Derrimon Trading fell 30 cents in closing at $2.50, with 71,408 stock units crossing the exchange, Elite Diagnostic dropped by 3 cents to end at $3.12 with investors switching ownership of 90,206 stock units. Everything Fresh fell 8 cents to 66 cents, with 747,741 shares changing hands, Express Catering shed 5 cents to end at $3.85 with investors switching ownership of 6,056 shares, Fontana fell 1 cent in ending at $4.98, with 48,119 units clearing the market. General Accident carved out a loss 70 cents and ended at $6.50 with investors switching ownership of 505,006 units, GWest Corporation added 5 cents to close at 75 cents, trading of 2,000 units, 
Honey Bun carved out a loss 15 cents to close at $4.95, with 22,900 shares changing hands. iCreate rose 3 cents to close at 68 cents, with 610,064 stock units passing through the market, Iron Rock Insurance lost 40 cents to end at $3 in exchanging 800 units, Jamaican Teas gained 15 cents to end at $4.65 while exchanging 78,695 stock units. Jetcon Corporation dropped by 9 cents to settle at 89 cents in trading 91,736 stocks, Lasco Distributors dropped 34 cents to close at $3 while exchanging 1,527,013 stock units, Lasco Manufacturing lost 2 cents to close at $3.97 in clearing the market with 17,315 shares. Lumber Depot dipped by 1 cent to end at $1.04 in an exchange of 131,521 stocks, Mailpac Group lost 6 cents to finish at $2.02, with 438,799 units crossing the exchange, Main Event dropped 49 cents to settle at $3.50, with 21,720 units changing hands. Medical Disposables lost 10 cents to end at $4.90, after 18,999 stocks crossed the exchange and SSL Venture fell 11 cents to 75 cents, with an exchange of 1,000 units.
This week’s focus: 138 Students Living reported a 44 percent increase in revenues to hit $334 million from $223 million in the June 2019 quarter and a 60 percent rise in the nine months to $1.09 billion. The company moved from a loss of $17 million in the 2019 third quarter to a profit of $132 million in 2020 and from a loss of $60 million in the nine months to June, to a profit of $402 million. Operating cost fell in both periods compared with the 2019 cost. The big problem is that the company continues the extremely poor practice of not showing operating and administrative expenses separately, making it impossible to see what gross margins are. The significant increase in profit is due to claims made on the University going back to 2019, which are booked in the current year that distorts earnings from ongoing operations. 
While earnings per share for the quarter is an attractive 32 cents and year to date 97 cents. Earnings from ongoing operations suggest that the full year’s results should be in the order of 40 cents after a regular tax charge.
The average projected gain for the Junior Market IC TOP 10 stocks is 278 percent, and 152 percent for the JSE Main Market, based on 2020-21 earnings, an indication of potentially more significant gains in the Junior Market than in the Main Market.
Trading ended with 27 securities changing hands compared to 31 on Thursday and ended with the prices of eight stocks rising, the prices of nine declining and ten with remaining unchanged.
For the month to date, the average trade resulted in an exchange of 136,446 shares at $382,221, in comparison to 137,315 units at $373,348 on Thursday. Trading to date compares adversely to July, with an average of 248,153 units at $668,727.
General Accident dropped 15 cents to end at $7.20 in exchanging 11,944 stocks, iCreate lost 3 cents to settle at 65 cents in an exchange of 83,321 stock units, ISP Finance fell 41 cents to settle at $14.59, with ten shares changing hands, Jamaican Teas dropped by 50 cents to settle at $4.50 in trading 1,956,594 stock units. Lasco Distributors carved out a loss of 6 cents in closing at $3.34 and exchanging 20,587 stock units, Lasco Manufacturing added 9 cents in closing at $3.99 in trading 26,000 stocks, Limners and Bards gained 9 cents to finish at $2.80 with an exchange of 6,853 shares. Lumber Depot increased 2 cents in closing at $1.05 and trading 2,100 units. Medical Disposables rose 9 cents to $5, with 5,387 stock units crossing the exchange, SSL Venture carved out an increase of 11 cents to close at 86 cents, with an exchange of 1,500 units and Stationery and Office Supplies lost 20 cents to close at $5.60 in trading 44,707 shares.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows five stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and three with lower offers.
Honey Bun declined by 23 cents to $5.10 with investors switching ownership of 5,302 shares, iCreate gained 5 cents in closing at 68 cents with 198,879 stock units changing hands, Indies Pharma declined by 10 cents to $2.80, with 129,500 stocks clearing the market. Jamaican Teas lost 2 cents to settle at $5 in exchanging 247,818 stock units, Jetcon Corporation declined by 2 cents to 98 cents in trading 61,870 shares, Lasco Distributors advanced by 19 cents to $3.40, with 93,492 stock units changing hands. Lasco Manufacturing carved out a gain of 13 cents to end at $3.90 trading 13,717 stock units, Limners and Bards shed 8 cents to close at $2.71 after 116,115 stock units crossed the market, Lumber Depot lost 1 cent to settle at $1.03 with an exchange of 130,838 stock units. Mailpac Group lost 2 cents in ending at $2.08 finishing at 1,018,454 units, Main Event carved out a gain of 3 cents to end at $3.99 in exchanging 800 stocks, Medical Disposables declined by 2 cents to close at $4.91, with 12,100 stocks changing hands and Paramount Trading carved out a gain of 4 cents to end at $1.79 in an exchange of 10,700 shares.
Trading ended with 31 securities changing hands compared to 33 on Tuesday and ended with the prices of 12 stocks rising, the prices of 13 stocks declining and six ended, with the prices remaining unchanged.
At the close of the market, Access Financial dropped 89 cents in ending at $26.10, with 1,700 shares crossing the exchange, AMG Packaging slipped 20 cents to end at $1.54 trading 12,100 units, Blue Power gained 20 cents to end at $3.40 in exchanging 2,166 shares. Caribbean Assurance Brokers rose 9 cents to end at $2.24 while exchanging 19,410 stocks, Caribbean Cream advanced by 15 cents to settle at $4.25, with 35,001 stock units passing through the market, Caribbean Producers shed 4 cents to close at $2.40 trading 65,450 units. Derrimon Trading declined by 30 cents to settle at $2.70 with 70,079 shares changing hands, Elite Diagnostic carved out a gain of 45 cents in finishing at $3.65, while trading 5,000 shares. Express Catering climbed 45 cents to settle at $3.90, with 740 shares changing hands, Fontana shed 1 cent to end at $5.01 and clearing the market with 89,132 units, Fosrich advanced 20 cents and closed at $3.90 in exchanging 500 stocks. General Accident fell 1 cent in ending at $7.49, with 77,647 stocks passing through the market, iCreate gained 1 cent to settle at 63 cents trading 9,600 stock units, Indies Pharma dropped by 5 cents to end at $2.90 in exchanging 47,138 units. 
Jamaican Teas carved out a gain of 2 cents in closing at $5.02 and exchanging 100,297 shares, Knutsford Express increased 5 cents to close at $6.90 in trading 28,804 stocks.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows three stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and six with lower offers.
Indies Pharma climbed 5 cents to end at $2.95 with an exchange of 17,662 units, Iron Rock Insurance fell 5 cents to $3.40, with 1,935 shares crossing the exchange, Jetcon Corporation lost 1 cent to end at $1 after trading 3,238 stocks. Knutsford Express fell 5 cents in closing at $6.85 with investors switching ownership of 32,852 stocks, Lasco Distributors dropped by 5 cents to end at $3.20, with 779,939 stock units crossing the market, Lasco Financial advanced by 5 cents to close at $2.35, after exchanging 3,430,200 shares. Lasco Manufacturing carved out a gain of 20 cents in closing at $3.90 changing hands 137,491 units, Limners and Bards dropped by 6 cents to settle at $2.90, with 196,444 shares changing hands, Lumber Depot carved out a loss 3 cents to end at $1.01 in exchanging 362,184 stocks. Medical Disposables gained 7 cents to close at $5, with 9,906 stock units changing hands, SSL Venture fell 9 cents in closing at 78 cents in trading 10,000 stock units and tTech declined by 80 cents to close at $5.95 trading 7,397 units after the company reported lower revenues and profit for the June quarter.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows three stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and two with lower offers.
iCreate settled at 61 cents, with a gain of 1 cent and 298,692 shares crossing the market, ISP Finance shed 80 cents to settle at $15, with 129 units passing through the market. Jamaican Teas rose 1 cent to $5, with investors switching ownership of 43,500 stock units, Knutsford Express declined 98 cents to close at $6.90 in an exchange of 1,840 stock units, Lasco Distributors gained 20 cents, in closing at $3.25 with 7,768 stocks changing hands. Lasco Financial lost 5 cents to end at $2.30 trading 47,768 stock units, Limners and Bards declined by 4 cents to settle at $2.96 as investors swapped 185,204 shares, Lumber Depot fell 2 cents to $1.04, in an exchange of 806,750 shares. MailPac Group gained 1 cent to end at $2.15, after trading 543,553 shares, Medical Disposables shed 26 cents to settle at $4.93, with 7,531 units crossing the market and tTech rose 25 cents to end at $6.75 trading 10,097 units.
Caribbean Producers heads the list, followed by Lasco Financial and Stationery and Office Supplies.
The company declared a dividend of $2.216 per share payable on October 7, with an Ex-dividend date, of September 21.
The average projected gain for the IC TOP 10 stocks is 257 percent, for the Junior Market and 149 percent for the JSE Main Market, based on 2020-21 earnings, an indication that there is the potential to make greater gains in the Junior Market than in the Main Market.
At the close of the market, Access Financial carved out a gain of $3.49 to close at $26.99 in trading 6,465 shares, AMG Packaging increased 10 cents to end at $1.84 after exchanging 14,749 units, Blue Power fell 5 cents in ending at $3.40 after trading 3,500 shares. Caribbean Assurance Brokers increased 4 cents to close at $2.15 in an exchange of 8,688 stock units, Caribbean Cream rose 15 cents to end at $5.40 after exchanging 115,306 units, Caribbean Producers fell 2 cents to close at $2.42 in trading 58,650 stock units. Derrimon Trading carved out a gain of 1 cent to end at $2.55, with 211,600 stocks changing hands, Dolphin Cove climbed 25 cents to $7.25 with an exchange of 3,630 units, Everything Fresh fell 2 cents to end at 73 cents after clearing the market of 72,417 stock units. Fontana lost 2 cents to close at $5 with investors swapping 85,126 stocks, Fosrich fell 5 cents to $3.70 in trading 106,700 stocks, General Accident rose 20 cents closing at $7.50 after exchanging 283,368 shares. GWest Corporation climbed 3 cents to end at 89 cents in an exchange of 2,400 units, iCreate declined by 2 cents to end at 60 cents, with 68,005 stock units crossing the market, Indies Pharma dropped 6 cents to settle at $2.90 while exchanging 35,193 shares. 
Jetcon Corporation advanced by 9 cents to settle at $1.01 trading 3,000 units, Knutsford Express increased 38 cents and ended at $7.88 with investors swapping 225 stocks, Lasco Distributors carved out a loss 22 cents to settle at $3.05 in trading 20,967 stock units. Lasco Manufacturing advanced by 18 cents after closing at $3.70, with investors swapping 103,786 units, Limners and Bards rose 14 cents to end at $3, with 90,543 shares, crossing the market, Mailpac Group lost 1 cent to close at $2.14 with investors switching ownership of 576,774 units. Main Event fell 3 cents in closing at $3.96 and exchanging 607,726 stock units, Medical Disposables lost 1 cent to end at $5.19 with an exchange of 6,703 units and Paramount Trading dropped 2 cents to settle at $1.75 trading 8,000 shares.