The Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange failed to hold on to its early gains that saw the market index rising 61.5 points to 2,477.08 in the morning session on Thursday, and finished the day with a decline of 8.16 points to close at 2,407.42 after rising 103 points for April.
Junior Market trades
The market close with 32 securities changing hands, resulting in an exchange of 5,285,092 units for $16,777,095, compared to 3,721,917 units valued at $8,632,508 on Wednesday.
At the close of market activities, the prices of 17 securities advanced, 12 declined and three remained unchanged leading the Junior Market
Trading ended with an average of 165,159 units at $524,284 for each security traded, in contrast to 112,785 units, for an average of $261,591 on Wednesday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to units 447,863 valued at $1,028,076 and previously 462,965 units valued at $1,054,990. In contrast, March closed with an average of 226,230 units valued at $542,563 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 five with lower offers.
At the close of the market, 
Access Financial climbed $1.48 to settle at $25.98 with 1,000 shares changing hands, Blue Power decline 45 cents in trading of 7,560 units at $3.40, Caribbean Cream dipped 15 cents in trading of 999,791 units at $2. Caribbean Producers fell by 6 cents to settle at $2.70, Consolidated Bakeries climbed 4 cents and exchanged 500 shares at $1.76, Derrimon Trading closed trading of 1,000 units and gained 21 cents to end at $2.20. Dolphin Cove closed trading of 123 units and gained 22 cents to end at $7.22, Elite Diagnostic climbed 10 cents and exchanged 4,000 shares at $3.70, Everything Fresh ended trading with 100 shares, after rising 11 cents to end at 78 cents. Express Catering closed 15 cents higher at $3.25, with 2,759 stock units changing hands, Fontana closed 4 cents higher at $5.34, with 145,155 stock units trading, Fosrich closed 6 cents higher at $4, with 151,000 stock units crossing the exchange. General Accident dipped 41 cents in trading of 1,893,851 units at $4.49, GWest Corporation closed trading of 27,004 units and gained 1 cent to end at $0.89, Honey Bun ended trading with 73,032 shares, after rising 9 cents to end at $5.49. iCreate ended trading with 1,200 shares, after rising 4 cents to end at 46 cents, Indies Pharma added 1 cent and exchanged 26,749 shares at $2.36, Jamaican Teas ended market activity exchanging 129,520 shares to close at $4.04 after falling 4 cents. 
Knutsford Express ended trading with 1,450 shares, after rising 7 cents to end at $8.50, Lasco Distributors fell 12 cents in trading of 93,450 units at $2.85, Lasco Financial lost 5 cents in trading 118,782 shares to close at 2.70 cents. Limners and Bards lost 7 cents in trading of 41,463 units at $1.86, Lumber Depot declined 4 cents in trading of 257,140 units at $1.12, Mailpac Group lost 2 cents in trading of 299,127 units at $1.68. Medical Disposables fell 3 cents in trading 103,945 units at $6.45, SSL Venture exchanged 200 units and gained 16 cents to end at 90 cents, Stationery and Office Supplies closed trading of 34,800 units and rose 5 cents to end at $6.05 and tTech fell 49 cents with 500 units changing hands at $3.71.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Trading concluded with 33 securities changing hands, resulting in an exchange of 3,721,917 units valued at $8,632,508 compared to 12,280,544 units valued at $26,562,508 from 29 securities on Tuesday. Market activities ended with the prices of 12 securities rising, 19 declining and two holding firm. The average PE ratio of the Junior Market ended at 8.8 based on 2020-21 earnings.
At the close of the market, AMG Packaging dropped 15 cents in the trading of 484 units at $1.65, Blue Power gained 10 cents and exchanged 30,200 units to settle at $3.85, Caribbean Assurance Brokers finished 6 cents lower at $2.19 with 15,673 units changing hands. Caribbean Cream fell 12 cents to $2.15 in the exchange of 478,724 shares, Caribbean Flavours slipped 2 cents after swapping 3,000 units to settle at $9.98, Caribbean Producers finished at $2.76 after climbing 24 cents with 574,589 units traded. Consolidated Bakeries ended 3 cents lower at $1.72 with 3,000 shares traded, Derrimon Trading added 4 cents in the exchange of 1,100 units to close at $1.99, Dolphin Cove shed 50 cents to close at $7 with 3,454 shares changing hands. Elite Diagnostic dropped 15 cents to $3.60 in the trading of 900 units, Everything Fresh swapped 113,549 shares and lost 5 cents to end at 67 cents, Express Catering fell 20 cents trading 99,779 stock units to close at $3.10. Fontana gained 1 cent to finish at $5.30 with an exchange of 63,656 units, Fosrich settled at $3.94 after slipping 1 cent and trading 1,000 shares, General Accident closed trading 8 cents lower at $4.90 with 347,579 units changing hands. Honey Bun gained 5 cents to close at $5.40 with 5,166 stock units trading, iCreate ended 3 cents lower at 42 cents with 162,858 stock units crossing the exchange, Indies Pharma gained 5 cents and swapped 5,306 units to end at $2.35. Jetcon Corporation added 2 cents to close at $1.02 with 20,300 shares changing hands, KLE Group finished 5 cents higher at $1.65 with an exchange of 6,000 units, 
Knutsford Express closed trading of 3,445 units and dropped 56 cents to end at $8.43. Lasco Distributors picked up 2 cents in exchanging 1,103 shares to close at $2.97, Lasco Financial finished $2.75 after losing 17 cents in switching ownership of 42,023 units, Lasco Manufacturing fell 10 cents to $3.80 with 27,911 shares changing hands. Limners and Bards slipped 1 cent and exchanged 8,000 shares to end at $1.93, Lumber Depot closed 3 cents higher at $1.16 with 88,633 stock units trading, MailPac Group had another significant trading day with 1,472,605 units exchanged to settle at $1.70 after losing 6 cents. Main Event dropped $1.19 to end at $3.81 with 28,442 shares trading, Medical Disposables leaped 93 cents to $6.48 with 33,957 shares traded, SSL Venture slipped 1 cent and 120 shares switched ownership to end at 74 cents and tTech climbed 22 cents to $4.20 with 991 units crossing the exchange.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows one stock ended with bids higher than its last selling prices and one with a lower offer.
Lasco Distributors shed 3 cents in trading of 43,601 units at $2.95, Lasco Financial closed market activity with 14,650 units crossing the exchange and gained 4 cents to end at $2.92. Lasco Manufacturing exchanged 32,261 shares and rose 2 cents to end at $3.90, Limners and Bards fell 6 cents to $1.94 in trading of 12,443 units, Lumber Depot declined 2 cents in swapping 4,795,516 units to finish at $1.13. Mailpac Group ended activity 1 cent higher at $1.76 with 1,472,663 shares traded, Main Event climbed 5 cents to settle at $1.19 with 1,880,010 shares changing hands, Medical Disposables exchanged 114,000 shares and rose 54 cents to end at $5.55. Stationery and Office Supplies closed with a loss of 50 cents at $6 in the swapping of 67,329 shares and tTech shred 77 cents to settle at $3.98 with 238,233 shares crossing the exchange.
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 four with lower offers.
KLE Group fell 10 cents in trading of 50,000 units to finish at $1.60. Lasco Distributors closed trading of 2,323 units and gained 1 cent to end at $2.98, Lasco Financial lost 7 cents in trading 10,995 shares to close at $2.88, Lasco Manufacturing exchanged 9,020 shares to settle at $3.88 after falling 2 cents. Limners and Bards dipped 1 cent to $2 with 5,446 stock units changing hands, Lumber Depot ended with a loss of 1 cent at $1.15 with 297,770 units trading, MailPac Group swapped 8,166,074 shares and rose 7 cents to end at $1.75. Medical Disposables fell 49 cents to $5.01 with 160,455 shares exchanged, Stationery and Office Supplies climbed 40 cents and traded 582 shares to close at $6.50 and tTech climbed 54 cents to $4.75 with 2,000 shares crossing the exchange.
This week’s focus: General Accident is set to do very well. Last year’s earnings grew 48 percent from an increase of 22 percent in gross premium income and a 25 percent increase in net premium. The company acquired majority shares in the Trinidad based
Uncertainties exist in the economy and financial markets accordingly, and it is not possible to determine the exact impact on company earnings for the rest of the year. Actual earnings could vary materially from IC Insider.com’s forecast. Looking beyond the immediate fallout or benefits for companies can be useful in guiding investment decisions for above-average gains in the period ahead.
The JSE Main Market ended the week, with an overall PE of 12.8 and the Junior Market a mere 9, based on current 2020-21 earnings. The PE ratio for Junior Market Top 10 stocks averages a just 5.3 with the Main Market at a much higher level of 8.5.
IC TOP 10 stocks are likely to deliver the best returns to March 2021. Forecasted earnings and PE ratio for the current fiscal year are in determining potential gains. The ranking of stocks is in order of likely increases, with the highest-ranked, being the most attractive. Expected values will change as stock prices fluctuate and will result in movements of the selection in and out of the lists for most weeks. Earnings per share are revised on an ongoing basis when new information is received that affects earnings significantly.
At the close, the Junior Market Index advanced 35.13 points to close at 2,414.24 after risen over 50 points at one stage of the day and left the average PE ratio ended at 8.8 times 2020-21 earnings. Market activities resulted in prices of 6 securities advancing, 12 losing and 12 remaining unchanged.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows four stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with a lower offer.
iCreate ended with a loss of 1 cent at 47 cents, with 5,793 stock units changing hands, Jamaican Teas fell
The market closed with 35 securities changing hands with prices of 11 securities advancing, 12 declining while 11 remained unchanged. The average PE ratio of the Junior Market ended at 8.7 based on 2020-21 earnings. Investors exchanged 24,912,363 units valued at $54,086,454, compared to 115,474,401 units valued at $258,980,019 on Wednesday from 33 companies.
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.
Jamaican Teas shed 5 cents in trading of 48,718 units at $4.30, Lasco Financial fell by 8 cents in trading of 24,185 units at $2.90. Lasco Manufacturing closed trading of 2,319,260 units and gained 27 cents to end at $3.97, Limners and Bards climbed 21 cents, exchanging 34,694 shares at $2.01, Lumber Depot gained 1 to end at $1.16, trading 180,795 shares. Mailpac Group closed with a loss of 6 cents at $1.69, in swapping of 15,790,186 shares, Main Event shed 40 cents in trading of 13,623 units at $3.85. Medical Disposables declined by $2 to settle at $5.50, in exchanging 300,000 shares, Paramount Trading shed 37 cents in trading of 5,000 units at $2 and Stationery and Office Supplies closed 10 cents higher at $6.10, with 3,500 stock units changing hands.
In comparison, March closed with an average of 226,230 units, valued at $542,563 for each security traded.
Knutsford Express lost 99 cents in swapping 2,198 shares to close at $8, Lasco Distributors finished 1 cent higher at $2.97 with 21,000 stock units trading, Lasco Financial shed 12 cents in the exchange of 5,700 units to close at $2.98. Lasco Manufacturing traded 32,562 shares and gained 15 cents to end at $3.70, Limners and Bards dipped 10 cents to $1.80 in trading of 41,964,069 units, Lumber Depot ended 1 cent higher at $1.15 with 107,917 shares changing hands. MailPac Group exchanged 68,195,556 units and climbed 15 cents to end at $1.75, Main Event rose 25 cents to $4.25 with an exchange of 1,000 shares at $4.25, Medical Disposables climbed 91 cents and traded 30,200 shares to settle at$7.50. SSL Venture closed with a loss of 26 cents at a 52 weeks’ low of 75 cents in the swapping of 5,141 shares and Stationery and Office Supplies closed trading 30 cents higher at $6 with 23,387 units crossing the exchange.
Trading ended with slightly more securities advancing than declining, but the index slid 9.87 points to settle at 2,452.63. The market closed, with the prices of 15 securities advancing, 12 declined and four stocks remained unchanged as 33 securities changed hands, resulting in an exchange of 9,178,794 units valued at $16,852,497 compared to 1,924,700 units valued at $6,915,784 from 33 securities on Monday.
Blue Power fell 85 cents in exchanging 240,000 shares to close at $3, Cargo Handlers finished 50 cents lower at $6 in the trading of 2,950 units. Caribbean Assurance Brokers traded 303,958 in closing with a loss of 15 cents at $2.35, Caribbean Producers fell 6 cents to close at $2.74 in the swapping of 332,111 shares, Consolidated Bakeries traded 11,130 units and gained 3 cents to end at $1.54. Derrimon Trading climbed 9 cents to $1.95 with an exchange of 29,146 shares, Dolphin Cove lost 30 cents in trading 7,719 shares to close at $7.50, Elite Diagnostic added 30 cents and exchanged 17,106 shares to end at $3.80, Everything Fresh finished at 72 cents after swapping 32,000 shares and gaining 2 cents. Express Catering slipped 1 cent to $3.72 with 61,300 stock units exchanged, Fontana closed 45 cents higher at $5.60 with 186,701 shares trading, Honey Bun ended with a loss of 1 cent at $5.99 with 48,070 stock units changing hands. iCreate exchanged 668,491 shares to close at 41cents after falling to a 52 weeks’ low of 14 cents, Indies Pharma declined by 18 cents to settle at $2.25 with 58,700 units swapped, Jamaican Teas closed trading of 121,527 units and gained 58 cents to end at $4.40. Jetcon Corporation added 1 cent to close at 94 cents with 13,513 shares changing hands, 
Knutsford Express climbed 69 cents and exchanged 800 shares to settle at $8.99, Lasco Distributors ended 1 cent higher at $2.96, trading 4,810 shares. Lasco Financial gained 11 cents and exchanged 13,934 units to end at $3.10, Lasco Manufacturing closed 19 cents higher at $3.55 with 219,895 stock units trading, Limners and Bards traded 34,651 shares after rising 1 cent to end at $1.90. Lumber Depot closed with a loss of 4 cents at $1.14 with 301,254 shares crossing the exchange, MailPac Group closed trading of 6,381,640 units and gained 5 cents to end at $1.60, Main Event slipped 1 cent to $4 with 26,144 stock units changing hands. Medical Disposables closed at $6.59 after exchanging 6,828 units and gaining 9 cents, Paramount Trading fell 2 cents in trading 2,700 shares to settle at $2.37 and Stationery and Office Supplies closed with a loss of $1.05 at $5.70 with 6,782 units crossing the exchange.
Trading concluded with 33 securities changing hands, resulting in an exchange of 1,924,700 units valued at $6,915,784 compared to 5,311,793 units valued at $13,249,122 from 32 securities on Friday.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows three stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and two with lower offers.
Indies Pharma swapped 36,701 stock units and gained 23 cents, to end at $2.43, Jamaican Teas declined 18 cents in trading of 65,172 units at $3.82, Jetcon Corporation fell 7 cents to 93 cents, with an exchange of 3,000 shares. Knutsford Express closed trading of 502 units and gained 26 cents to end at $8.30, Lasco Distributors lost 5 cents in exchanging 2,471 shares to close at $2.95, Lasco Manufacturing climbed 9 cents to $3.36 with 66,183 shares changing hands. 2462. Limners and Bards added 14 cents and exchanged 43,700 shares to end at $1.89. Lumber Depot closed 4 cents higher at $1.18 with 33,539 stock units trading, MailPac Group lost 3 cents in the exchange of 383,338 units to settle at $1.55, Paramount Trading climbed 29 cents and traded 5,033 shares to finish at $2.39 and Stationery and Office Supplies fell 35 to $6.75 with 110,749 units crossing the exchange.