The junior market took a breather on Thursday from the sharp fall of the past few days to record a moderate gain of 6.85 points to close at 1,762.87. The market ended with 12 active securities, 4 of which advanced and 5 declined as only 785,366 units changed hands, valued at $2,423,588.
There were 6 stocks closing with bids that were higher than their last selling prices and 3 ended with lower offers. The junior market have fallen by a huge 25.5 percent from it peak earlier in the year. Sharp declines in the three Lasco listed stocks are major factors behind the steepness of the fall.
At the end of trading, CAC 2000 fell 3 cents as 11,080 shares traded to close at $6.50, Consolidated Bakeries lost 6 cents in trading 55,367 units, to end at $1.15, C2W Music traded 8,700 units at 33 cents, Dolphin Cove ended at $14.50 with 190 shares trading, General Accident fell by 37 cents in trading 93,021 units and closed at $2.33.
Honey Bun had just 969 shares trading but rose 50 cents to end at $11, Jamaican Teas closed at $3.80 after trading 66,814 units. Jetcon Corporation lost 5 cents to close at $2.85 after 363,344 shares changed hands, Key Insurance gained 10 cents to close at $3 with 19,501 units changing hands, Lasco Distributors lost 1 cent and ended with 110,580 units trading at $4.50. Lasco Financial rose by 1 cent to end at $3 with 1,700 shares changing hands and Lasco Manufacturing ended with 54,100 shares changing hands having risen by 1 cent to close at $3.51.
JSE stable on Thursday morning
Trading the Jamaican Stock Exchange is off to a slow start with all the indices inching up after 75 minutes of trading on Thursday.
An average of 32,320 units of active stocks traded, up from an average of 40,324 units that traded in the prior mid-morning session.
A total of 20 securities, accounting for only 646,395 shares changed hands at 10.45 am as 4 stocks gained and 7 declined, continuing the negative trend in place for some time. Cable & Wireless is one of two stocks to trade more than 100,000 shares, as the price of the stock stabilized at $1 with 125,767 shares traded while recently listed Jetcon Corporation accounted for 363,344 units as the price slipped to $2.85.
The market saw all Jamaica Composite Index gained 3.10 points to 166,905.78, the JSE Market Index rose 2.77 points to 150,285.45 the JSE combined index ending with gain of 160.74 points to 157,577.33 and the junior market index moved up by 15.43 points to 1,771.45.
Juniors take another big hit – Wednesday
At the close, the junior market index dropped another 3.04 percent on top of the 4.9 percent it fell by on Tuesday, to close at 1,756.02, after shedding 55.06 points, on top of the 93.63 it fell by on Tuesday. The market ended with 17 active securities, 4 of which advanced and 12 declined as 2,838,527 units changed hands, valued at $11,128,849.
There were 2 stocks closing with bids that were higher than their last selling prices and 1 ended with a lower offer.
At the end of trading, AMG Packaging rose $1.40 with 2,000 shares traded to close at $12.50, Blue Power traded 385 units but lost $2.10 to close at $11.95, Caribbean Cream fell 20 cents to end at $4.50 with 15,229 units changing hands. Caribbean Flavours traded 5,335 shares and lost 11 cents to end at $7.45, Caribbean Producers traded 200,000 shares to end with a loss of 20 cents at $3.80, Consolidated Bakeries lost 3 cents in trading 51,344 units, to end at $1.21, General Accident fell by 20 cents in trading 56,296 units and closed at $2.70. Honey Bun had 8,880 units trading but dropped $1 to end at $10.50, ISP Finance lost 15 cents with 20,719 shares trading to end at $2.35, Jamaican Teas closed at $3.80 
after trading 41,880 units to record a loss of 20 cents. Jetcon Corporation closed at $2.90 after 398,120 shares changed hands as high as $2.95, Key Insurance gained 15 cents to close at $2.90 with 176,233 units changing hands. The stock had traded in the morning session at an intraday high of $3. KLE Group closed at $1.66 after falling 4 cents with 9,000 shares changing hands, Lasco Distributors lost 39 cents and ended with 1,548,585 units trading to close at $4.51. Lasco Financial rose by 24 cents to end at $2.99 with 37,883 shares changing hands, Lasco Manufacturing ended with 185,662 shares changing hands having risen by 44 cents to close at $3.50 and Medical Disposables traded 26,450 shares to end at $3.20 after losing 22 cents.
Major JSE tumble early Wednesday
Trading the Jamaican Stock Exchange is off to a rocky start with the all Jamaica Index slipping almost 2,000 points, after 75 minutes of trading on Wednesday. 
The junior market just inched up slightly. An average of 40,324 units of active stocks traded, up from an average of 27,804 units that traded in the prior mid-morning session.
A total of 25 securities, accounting for only 1,005,853 shares changed hands at 10.45 am as 7 stocks gained and 12 declined continuing the negative trend in place for some time. Jetcon accounted for 272,907 units and Sagicor Group accounted for 115,403 units, being the only companies to trade over 100,000 units. Of note is that Key Insurance traded at a new high of $3 but the stock was offered at $2.90 after wards.
The market saw all Jamaica Composite Index dropped 1,947.44 points to 167,103.72, the JSE Market Index fell 1,741.33 points to 150,462.43 the JSE combined index ending with a loss of 1,603.40 points to 158,159.93 and the junior market index rose 20.37 points to 1,812.24.
Junior market drops sharply – Tuesday
Eppley added $59 to reach a new high on Tuesday
There were 2 stocks closing with bids that were higher than their last selling prices and 4 ended with lower offers.
At the end of trading, Access Financial Services lost 40 cents with 1,500 shares traded to close at $16.60, Caribbean Producers traded 500 shares to end with a loss of 10 cents at $4, Consolidated Bakeries had 7,085 units trading, to end at $1.24, C2W Music 5,000 units changing hands to close at of 33 cents. Eppley gained 14.75 percent in ending at a 52 weeks’ high of $459 with 5,300 shares trading with an increase of $58.99, on the same day the company had an extraordinary meeting to vote on an increase in the share capital by 500,000 ordinary shares. General Accident fell by 8 cents in trading just 100 units at $2.90. Honey Bun had 1,889 units trading to end at $11.50, Iron Rock had 125,840 shares trading but eased 15 cents to end at $3.85, Jamaican Teas closed at $4 after trading 9,242 units.
Jetcon Corporation closed at $2.90 after 395,110 shares changed hands, Key Insurance lost 10 cents to close at $2.75 with 79,823 units changing hands. KLE Group closed at $1.70 after rising by 5 cents with 6,795 shares changing hands, Knutsford Express closed with 57,252 units changing hands at $17.50 with a loss of $4.50, Lasco Distributors lost 70 cents and ended with 362,475 units trading to close at $4.90. Lasco Financial ended at $2.75 with 16,900 shares changing hands, Lasco Manufacturing ended with 125,020 shares changing hands and loss of 59 cents to close at $3.06, tTech traded 2,500 shares to end at $4.30 and Derrimon Trading preference share ended with a gain of 1 cent as 267,000 un inits traded to close at $2.17.
Junior market slipped slightly – Friday
Key Insurance Company that listed on Thursday traded at $2.60 on Friday today above the Initial Public offering price (IPO) of $2.27. ISP Finance that was listed earlier in the week did not traded on Friday with a wide gap between the bid at $2.15 the offer price of $3, the stock traded at $2.50 on the opening day. Jetcon Coporation that was listed on the day before Easter, traded to close at $2.90, but went as high as $2.99 compared to the IPO price of $2.25.
At the close, the junior market index fell 6.29 points being added to close at 1,918.93. The market ended with 21 active securities, 4 of which advanced and 10 declined as a mere 988,659 units changed hands, valued at $3,655,969. There were 4 stocks closing with bids that were higher than their last selling prices and 3 ended with lower offers.
In trading, AMG Packaging closed with a gain of 10 cents at $11.10 with 27,099 units changing hands, CAC 2000 traded 1,000 shares and lost 47 cents to end at $6.53, Caribbean Cream traded 22,085 shares as the price rose 35 cents to end at $4.75, Caribbean Flavours had 5,300 shares changing hands to end at $7.55. Caribbean Producers traded 3,000 shares to end with a loss of 10 cents at $4.70, Consolidated Bakeries had 29,073 units trading, with a rise of 10 cents to end at $1.25, C2W Music fell 3 cents with 4,000 units changing hands to close at 37 cents. Derrimon Trading closed with 950 shares changing hands as the price slipped 21 cents to end at $4, Honey Bun had 26,150 units trading but lost 2 cents to end at $11.01, Iron Rock had 5,000 shares trading at $4, Jamaican Teas closed at $3.80 after trading 28,510 units.
Jetcon Corporation closed at $2.90 after trading 306,956 shares, Key Insurance traded at a new high of $2.60 as 40,000 units changed hands with the price gaining 33 cents on the IPO price. KLE Group dropped 45 cents to close at $1.65 with 201,343 shares changing hands, Knutsford Express closed with 119 units changing hands to end at $22, Lasco Distributors lost 15 cents and ended with 177,390 units trading at $5.65. Lasco Financial ended at $3 with 7,077 shares changing hands, Lasco Manufacturing ended with 60,107 shares changing hands to close at $3.55, with a loss of 15 cents, Medical Disposables closed with a loss of 12 cents with 18,000 shares trading at $3.30 and tTech fell 48 cents with 17,500 shares trading to end at $4.
JSE’s modest trading early Friday
Trading the Jamaican Stock Exchange for the first day of April is off to a slow start in the morning session with only moderate volumes and with a number of the last 
traded prices on Thursdays either falling back or showing signs of doing so. A total of 19 securities, accounting for only 234,798 shares have changed hands at 10.45 am as 5 stocks gained and 8 declined
After 75 minutes of the market’s opening, Caribbean Cement that last traded at $28.49 was offered at $27, while Jetcon Corporation traded at a new high of $2.99 while National Commercial Bank lost 65 cents to trade at $40.60 with a small volume.
The main market indices suffered moderate gains but the juniors fell by a greater degree with the all Jamaica Composite Index falling 45.81 points to 170,915.04, the JSE Market Index fell 40.96 points to 153,870.37 the JSE combined index ending with a loss of 254.34 points to 162,263.58 and the junior market index dropped 21.09 points to 1,904.13.
Key Insurance list on junior market
Natalia Gobin-Gunter Chairman and Deputy Managing director inserting name strip to indicate listing of Key Insurance on the junior market on Thursday
Key Insurance Company was listed today but did not traded by the close but had 87,500 units on the bid above the Initial Public offering price of $2.27 with bids at $2.53. ISP Finance that was listed on Wednesday and closed trading at $2.50 on the opening day did not trade today, but Jetcon Coporation that was listed on the day before Easter, traded to close at $2.90, in a market that had only modest trades, taking place.
At the close, the junior market index gained 30.46 points being added to close at 1,925.22. The market ended with 16 active securities, 6 of which advanced and 5 declined as a mere 617,159 units changed hands, valued at $2,081,398. There were 4 stocks closing with bids that were higher than their last selling prices and 5 ended with lower offers.
In trading, AMG Packaging closed at $11 with 2,500 units changing hands, CAC 2000 traded 2,620 shares at $7, Caribbean Cream traded 46,275 shares as the price rose 11 cents to end at $4.40, Caribbean Flavours fell 2 cents with 3,100 shares changing hands to end at $7.55. Caribbean Producers traded 124,000 shares to end with a rise of 60 cents at $4.80, Consolidated Bakeries had 5,000 units trading with a rise of 10 cents to end at $1.15, C2W Music gained 4 cents with 50,000 units changing hands at 40 cents, Iron Rock had 2,500 shares trading at $4, 
Jamaican Teas lost 5 cents in closing at $3.80 after trading 14,805 units. Jetcon Corporation traded at a new closing high of $2.90, after trading 230,128 shares, KLE Group traded at $2.10 with a loss of 10 cents with 1,000 shares changing hands, Knutsford Express closed with 2,096 units changing hands to end at $22, Lasco Distributors ended with 19,100 units trading, to end at $5.80. Lasco Financial ended at $3 with 91,755 shares changing hands after regaining 35 cents, Lasco Manufacturing ended with 20,780 shares changing hands to close at $3.70, with a fall of 10 cents and Paramount Trading closed with a loss of 31 cents and closed with 1,500 shares trading at $11.
ISP list on junior market – Wednesday
ISP Finance was listed on Wednesday and closed trading at $2.50 after listing at $2. The new listing brought the junior market listings to 31 while the listing of Key Insurance on Thursday will bring the total to 32. Jetcon Coporation that was listed on the day before Easter traded to close at $2.80, the stock was offered to the public at $2.25.
At the end of trading on Wednesday, the junior market index dropped 38.69 points to close at 1,894.76. The market ended with 19 active securities, 6 of which advanced and 8 declined as 2,476,908 units changed hands, valued at $8,795,980.
At the close, three stocks closed at new highs while there were 3 stocks closing with bids that were higher than their last selling prices and 6 ended with lower offers.
In trading, AMG Packaging closed at $11 with 4,101 units changing hands, Blue Power had 7,267 shares trading but lost $1.05 to close at $13. CAC 2000 lost 40 cents in trading 6,800 shares at $7, Caribbean Flavours fell 43 cents with 5,000 shares changing hands to end at $7.57. Caribbean Producers traded 32,200 shares to end at $4.20 Consolidated Bakeries had 100,000 units trading with a loss of 7 cents to end at $1.05, Dolphin Cove had 1,850 units changing hands at 79 cents lower at $14.50. Honey Bun traded just 3,185 shares and gained 2 cents in closing at $11.03, Iron Rock had 163,004 shares trading at $4, ISP Finance traded 10,250 shares at a record high of $2.50 after adding 50 cents from the initial offered price of $2, Jamaican Teas lost 15 cents in closing at $3.85 after trading 121,235 units. 
Jetcon Corporation traded at a new high to close at $2.80, after trading at $2.90 and ended with a gain of 24 cents while 163,973 shares were traded, Knutsford Express closed with 1,429 units changing hands to end at $22, Lasco Distributors lost 5 cents with 21,300 units trading, to end at $5.80. Lasco Financial ended at $2.65 with 52,600 shares changing hands after shedding 35 cents, Lasco Manufacturing ended with 1,688,914 shares changing hands to close at $3.80, with a rise of 30 cents, Medical Disposables rose 27 cents and closed with 800 shares trading at $3.42. Sweet River traded 92,000 shares and gained 3 cents to end at a new high of $4.05 and tTech gained 18 cents, in trading 1,000 shares at $4.48.
Junior stocks soften – Wednesday
At the end of trading on Wednesday, the junior market index ended with a loss of 24.89 points to close at 1,905.84. The market ended with 14 active securities, 5 of which declined and 3 advanced as mere 157,151 units changed hands, valued at only $774,391.
At the close, 1 security ended with no bid and 6 securities had no stocks being offered for sale. There were only 2 stocks closing with bids that were higher than their last selling prices and 5 ended with lower offers.
In trading, AMG Packaging ended with 4,548 units changing hands to close with a loss of 43 cents at $10.57, Blue Power had 8,000 shares trading but rose 32 cents to end at $11.50. CAC 2000 traded 1,000 shares with a loss of 10 cents to end at $7.40, Caribbean Cream rose 30 cents with 5,000 shares changing hands to end at $4.Producers lost 17 cents in trading 32,327 shares at $4, Caribbean Consolidated Bakeries had 13,019 units trading firm at $1.30, 
Iron Rock Insurance traded 13,000 shares and closed unchanged at $4, Honey Bun traded 2,151 units at $13, Jamaican Teas closed at $4.49 after trading 500 units for the loss of 50 cents. Knutsford Express closed with 312 units changing hands at $22, Lasco Distributors lost 38 cents with 43,440 units trading to end at $5.51, Lasco Financial ended at $3.03 with 8,254 shares changing hands, Lasco Manufacturing ended with 24,600 shares changing hands to close at $3.56 with a rise of 6 cents and Paramount Trading closed with 1,000 shares trading at $11.31.
The junior market will have one more listing when trading starts on Thursday when Jetcon Corporation is listed.
