Trading picked dropped sharply on Wednesday, leading to a 50 percent fall in the volume of stocks passing through the exchange worth 58 percent less than Tuesday’s trades on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange, but the market continued its advance to the highest level since it closed at 2,922.18 on February 27, last year.
The Junior Market Index rose 10.75 points to close at 2,918.23 to be up 10.4 percent for the year to date. Early in the morning session, the index hit a 2,949.48 points level that is higher than the close on February 21, last year.
Trading ended with 39 securities down from 41 on Tuesday, with 18 rising, 13 declining and eight remaining unchanged.
The average PE Ratio ends at 15.8 based on ICInsider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
Investors traded 6,761,477 shares for $17,884,137 compared to 13,487,893 units at $42,784,456 on Tuesday.
Derrimon Trading led the market with 16.8 percent of total volume with 1.14 million shares, followed by Tropical Battery with 13.1 percent or 886,995 units and Caribbean Flavours with 11 percent and 741,946 stock units.
Trading averaged 173,371 units at $458,568 in contrast to 328,973 at $1,043,523 on Tuesday. Trading month to date averages 363,591 units at $903,906, down from 376,123 units at $933,244 on Tuesday. January closed with an average of 232,651 units at $569,885.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows three stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and four with lower offers.
At the close, Access Financial shed $2.50 to end at $21 with an exchange of 4,599 stock units, AMG Packaging rose 17 cents to $1.80 with 11,341 stocks changing hands, Caribbean Cream rose 5 cents to $4.70 with 4,485 shares passing through the market. Caribbean Flavours rose 5 cents to $2, trading 741,946 units, Caribbean Producers dropped 47 cents to $3.53 with a transfer of 232,034 stocks, Express Catering fell 12 cents to $3.50 with investors switching ownership of 47,207 stock units. Fontana gained 7 cents to close at $6.07 with an exchange of 310,702 units, Fosrich rose 10 cents to $4.30 with 60,214 shares changing hands, General Accident slipped 5 cents to $5.50 with 31,100 shares passing through the market. iCreate advanced 16 cents to 81 cents with 691,952 shares traded, Indies Pharma dropped 15 cents to $3.25 with a transfer of 538,426 stocks, Iron Rock Insurance declined 5 cents to $3.70 with an exchange of 624 units. ISP Finance jumped $3.30 to $25.30 with 59 shares changing hands, KLE Group gained 7 cents to close at $1.40 with 3,345 shares passing through the market, Knutsford Express shed 62 cents to $6.18 trading 3,500 stocks. 
Lasco Distributors climbed 22 cents to $3.87 with a transfer of 136,000 shares, Lasco Financial rose 10 cents to $2.60 with an exchange of 19,750 units, Lasco Manufacturing fell 12 cents to $4.26 with 282,351 units changing hands. Mailpac Group gained 13 cents to finish at $3.62 with 480,450 stock units passing through the market, Main Event fell 27 cents to $3.30, trading 9 shares, Stationery and Office Supplies increased by 18 cents to settle at $4.53 with a transfer of 300 stock units and tTech advanced 20 cents to close at $4.90 with 4,201 shares crossing the exchange.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Trading averaged 328,973 units at $1,043,523 well upon 150,842 at $445,771 on Monday. The month to date averaged 376,123 units at $933,244, close to the 379,631 units at $925,038 on Monday. Trading in January averaged 232,651 units at $569,885.
Jetcon Corporation gained 13 cents to 79 cents, with 145,898 shares changing hands, KLE Group picked up 17 cents at $1.33 after a transfer of 749 stock units, Lasco Distributors gained 5 cents to end at $3.65, in swapping 28,720 stocks. Lasco Financial lost 20 cents to close at $2.50, trading 135,748 units, Lasco Manufacturing shed 35 cents to end at $4.38, with an exchange of 33,412 shares, Mailpac Group lost 15 cents to close at $3.49, in trading 665,514 units. Main Event shed 42 cents to end at $3.03 after crossing the market with 14,500 shares and Stationery and Office Supplies ended 18 cents lower at $4.35 in the transfer of 25,000 stock units.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows five stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and two with lower offers.
Medical Disposables shed 25 cents in ending at $4.20, with 103,359 stock units crossing the market, Paramount Trading dipped 21 cents to $1.29 trading 8,970 stocks and tTech advanced 59 cents to $4.70, trading 3,369 shares.
Trading ended with 35 securities changing hands, down from 37 on Thursday, with prices of 14 stocks rising, 10 declining and 11 remaining unchanged. The Junior Market Index advanced 21.44 points to 2,899.13. The average PE Ratio ends at 15.3 based on ICInsider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows one stock ending with the bid higher than the last selling price and three with lower offers.
Mailpac Group lost 4 cents to close at $3.75 while exchanging 502,880 shares, Paramount Trading gained 21 cents to close at $1.50 with 51,390 units crossing the exchange and Stationery and Office Supplies rose 31 cents to $4.53 after exchanging 259 units.
Trading ended with 37 securities changing hands compared to 39 on Tuesday and concluded with the prices of 16 stocks rising, ten declining and 11 remaining unchanged.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows four stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and two with lower offers.
Lasco Manufacturing climbed 28 cents to $4.60 with 23,605 stock units changing hands, Limners and Bards advanced 14 cents to $2.64 with an exchange of 61,986 shares, Mailpac Group rose 14 cents to $3.79 with 481,324 units passing through the market and Stationery and Office Supplies dropped 31 cents to $4.22 with the trading of 60,168 shares.
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 1 o’clock close, AMG Packaging rose 14 cents to $1.80 trading 2,404 shares, Blue Power dropped 30 cents to $2.85 in an exchange of 1,234 stock units, Cargo Handlers climbed 19 cents to $6.71 with 7,904 stock units trading. Caribbean Assurance Brokers lost 7 cents to finish at $1.73 trading 8,412 stocks, Caribbean Flavours fell 15 cents to $1.95 after a transfer of 72,479 shares, Consolidated Bakeries gained 14 cents to close at $1.45 with 13,770 shares changing hands. Dolphin Cove climbed 45 cents to $7.50 with an exchange of 18 stocks, Elite Diagnostic advanced 25 cents to $3 with 6,160 stock units crossing the exchange, Express Catering dropped 18 cents to $3.50 with 3,136 shares traded. Fontana slipped 7 cents to $6.13 with a transfer of 214,490 shares, Fosrich fell 19 cents to $4.11 with 212,281 stock units changing hands, General Accident lost 12 cents to close at $5.31 with an exchange of 158,474 shares. Indies Pharma rose 8 cents to $3.05 trading 189,042 units, Jamaican Teas climbed 31 cents trading 1,364,296 stock units to close at a record high of $3.68, KLE Group advanced 22 cents to $1.40 with a transfer of 2,750 shares. 
Lasco Financial climbed 9 cents to $2.78 with 565,521 stock units changing hands, Lasco Manufacturing rose 6 cents to $4.32 with an exchange of 222 stock units, Lumber Depot rose 18 cents to $2.68 with 1,068,851 shares passing through the market. Mailpac Group gained 16 cents trading 987,293 shares to settle at $3.65, Main Event lost 9 cents to close at $3.01 with a transfer of 2,029 shares and Stationery and Office Supplies climbed 25 cents $4.53 with 810 stocks crossing the exchange.
Trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange Junior Market on Monday pushed the total volume of shares exchanged up 585 percent with a value 215 percent more than on Friday. Market activity resulted in 74,563,869 units trading for $122,016,255 compared to 10,871,142 units at $38,718,293 on Friday as 38 securities changed hands, up from 36 on Friday with prices of 16 rising, 14 declining and eight closing unchanged. Three stocks traded at 52 weeks’ highs during the day but only two ended at closing highs.
At the one PM close, Blue Power gained 29 cents to close at $3.15 in an exchange of 49,552 shares, CAC 2000 shed 50 cents to $9.50 after exchanging 345 units, Cargo Handlers dropped $1.10 to settle at $6.90, in trading 80,836 stock units. Caribbean Cream lost 34 cents to end at $4.65, after 63,863 shares crossing the exchange, Caribbean Flavours gained 10 cents to end at $2.10, with 165,153 stock units changing hands, Dolphin Cove ended 95 cents lower at $7.05, in an exchange of 1,292 shares. Elite Diagnostic slipped 25 cents to $2.75 with 85,552 stock units changing hands, Express Catering gained 28 cents ending at $3.68, with 13,665 stocks crossing the exchange, Fontana finished 19 cents higher at $6.20 in an exchange of 196,663 stock units. Fosrich gained 10 cents to close at $4.30 with 91,665 stocks crossing the exchange, Honey Bun shed 50 cents to end at $5 in a transfer of 573,813 shares. Jamaican Teas gained 10 cents to a record closing high of $3.37 after hitting an intraday high of $3.54, with 1,348,424 units crossing the market. Lasco Financial gained 9 cents in closing at $2.69, after exchanging 44,500 shares. Lasco Manufacturing fell 72 cents to $4.26 after trading as high as $4.95 with 217,306 stock units changing hands; the stock closed with the bid at $4.89, Limners and Bards lost 7 cents to end at $2.48, with 224,829 stocks crossing the market. 
Lumber Depot rose 40 cents to end at a 52 weeks’ high of $2.50, after the swapping of 2,434,406 units and trading as at a record high of $2.65 before the close. Mailpac Group shed 47 cents to end at $3.49, with an exchange of 5,737,107 shares, as investors reacted negatively to the release of full-year earnings of 18 cents per share, driving the stock to $3.10 during the trading session. Medical Disposables rose 46 cents to $4.46 trading 1,000 stocks, Paramount Trading lost 15 cents and ended at $1.30, in exchanging 60,499,360 shares and tTech lost 59 cents to settle at $4.11, with investors switching ownership of 10,000 units.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows six stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and three with lower offers.
Lasco Manufacturing rose 5 cents to $4.25 with 108,611 stocks changing hands, Lumber Depot gained 18 cents to end at 52 weeks’ high of $2.18 with an ownership switch of 783,265 units, Mailpac Group advanced 10 cents to $4 with an exchange of 271,927 shares. Main Event fell 19 cents to $3.30 with 68,569 stocks crossing the exchange, Medical Disposables shed 39 cents to close at $4 with 18,414 units traded and Stationery and Office Supplies fell 24 cents to $4.29 after trading 2,000 shares.
January closed with an average of 232,651 units at $569,885.
Knutsford Express lost 22 cents to end at $6.20 with 1,203 stocks passing through the market, Lasco Distributors declined by 9 cents to $3.21 with 111,367 stock units exchanged, Mailpac Group traded 1,081,329 shares and dropped 25 cents to $3.90, Paramount Trading advanced 18 cents to $1.45 with 63 stocks changing hands and tTech shed 61 cents to close at $4.09 with 34,055 units crossing the exchange.
Trading ended with 35 securities changing hands, down from 37 on Monday and closed with the prices of 13 stocks rising, 12 declining and 10 remaining unchanged.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows five stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and four with lower offers.
Limners and Bards finished 5 cents lower at $2.50, with 232,334 units changing hands, Mailpac Group gained 19 cents to close at an all-time closing high of $4.15, in the transfer of 695,450 stocks and Medical Disposables picked up 6 cents to end at $4.40, with 5,595 shares changing hands.