Barita climbs to a new closing high of $50 on Friday to gain 593% in 2018..
Stocks on the Jamaica Stock Exchange main market ending 2018 with a credible gain of 31.7 percent but brokerage house Barita Investments surged a by a huge 593 percent to be the markets best performing stock in 2018.
Barita Investments gain mostly came after Cornerstone Investment Holdings officially sealed the deal to take over the company and laterally, after announcing a rights issue to shareholders at an exercise price of $15.50. The stock closed the year at $52. But there is a lot more going on with this company as the new majority owners take a more aggressive approach to capture more business locally and within the wider Caribbean.
Four stocks end 2018 with gains of more than 100 percent contributed to the year’s performance but the year’s movement fell below that of 2017, when the index rose 50.7 percent. The next best performer could only deliver a 
211 percent rise in contrast to the stunning gains by Barita. Salada Foods ended the year with a jump in price to $35 on strong gains in profit, to capture the number 2 best performing spot rising by 211 percent for the year, followed by Palace Amusement with gains of 159 percent, the third year in a row that it is occupying the top 10 list. Kingston Wharves grew 135 percent to be one of 4 stocks to reappear in the top 10 for two consecutive years. Jamaica Broilers gained 67 percent. Pulse Investments reappeared in the Top 10 with a rise of 66 percent and heavy weight, PanJam Investment put in a strong showing of 65 percent, while Supreme Ventures chipped in with 57 percent, Mayberry Investments rose 52 percent and NCB Financial with 50 percent to retain one of the Top 10 spots for the second year in a row.
The worst performing stocks included Ciboney down 71 percent due mainly to the sale of property it previously owned 
with most of the proceeds distributed as a dividend thus reducing the value of its assets to a few million dollars. 138 Student Living was next with a fall of 42 percent with Portland JSX ending with a loss for the year of 25 percent following on from Kingston Properties with 22 percent and Sygnus Credit Investments with 20 percent from it 2018 IPO price. Both Ciboney and Carreras that are in the top 10 worst performing stocks in 2018 are coming from the top 10 in 2017.
The big winners for the year to July are, 
The big losers in the main market are, 
The Jamaica Stock Exchange pulled back at the close of trading on Friday as declining stocks was 60 percent more than as those advancing to end a week that had 2 days of new record close and still ended the week 2,561 points ahead of the close of the previous week. 
Grace Kennedy gained 50 cents and ended trading at $50.50, with 5,120 shares. Jamaica Broilers declined by 90 cents, trading 25,789 stock units to end at $22.10, with, Jamaica Producers gained 10 cents and finished trading at $16.95, with 1,654 units, Jamaica Stock Exchange closed at $7.20, with 2,500 shares after rising 17 cents, JMMB Group ended at $29.45, trading 219,128 shares with a rise of 45 cents. Kingston Properties fell 35 cents concluded trading at 52 weeks’ low of $5, with 6,000 shares, Kingston Wharves fell 35 cents and finished at $45.65, with 26,730 stock units changing hands, Mayberry Investments shed 44 cents and settled at $6.06, with 26,247 units, NCB Financial Group shed 49 cents and ended trading at $99.50, with 766,949 shares. 1834 Investments traded at $1.09 after rising 3 cents with 30,000 shares changing hands, 138 Student Living lost 8 cents and settled at $4.60, with 1,000 units, PanJam Investment closed at $51.45, with 27,225 stock units, Portland JSX lost 87 cents to end at $9.25, with 10,000 units, Radio Jamaica finished at $1.05, with 71,058 shares.
Sagicor Group settled at $38.15 and lost 95 cents after trading 73,246 shares, Sagicor Real Estate Fund eased 1 cent and settled at $13.79, with 14,201 shares. Scotia Group rose 57 cents in closing trading at $50.60, with 46,014 units, Sterling Investments dropped $2.50 and closed at $9.50, with 591 shares, Supreme Ventures lost 30 cents and ended at $14.20, with 72,325 shares. Victoria Mutual Investments concluded trading with a fall of 10 cents at $4, exchanging 568,164 stock units and Wisynco Group rose 4 cents, finishing at $9.84, with 169,237 units. In the main market preference segment, JMMB Group 7.5% lost 4 cents and finished at $1.04, with 1,000 stock units changing hands.
The Jamaica Stock Exchange closed on Wednesday with modest volumes, but the market indices moved to new record close. 
Carreras concluded trading at $10.30, with 39,046 units, Caribbean Cement jumped $2.50 to finish at $42, with 23,000 shares, Ciboney Group settled at 12 cents, with 50,000 shares. Grace Kennedy rose $1, ending trading at $51, exchanging 26,789 shares, Jamaica Broilers rose 20 cents to $23, with 2,100 stock units, Jamaica Producers finished trading at $16.85, with 14,960 units, Jamaica Stock Exchange closed at $7.30, trading 43,660 shares. JMMB Group ended with a loss of 65 cents at $27.60, trading 358,700 shares, Kingston Properties dropped 65 cents and concluded trading at $5.35, with 2,400 shares, Kingston Wharves fell 50 cents and finished at $46, with 61,766 stock units, Mayberry Investments settled with a gain of 10 cents at $6.50, trading 2,090 units. NCB Financial Group rose 25 cents and ended trading at $98.25, with 20,462 shares, PanJam Investment closed with a fall of 5 cents at $51.45, exchanging just 200 stock units, Radio Jamaica eased just 1 cent and finished at $1.07, with 104,000 shares trading, 
Sagicor Group settled with a loss of 70 cents at $38.50, exchanging 21,654 shares. Sagicor Real Estate Fund added 1 cents and settled at $13.81, with 890 shares, Scotia Group rose 35 cents in trading 59,507 units to close at $51.50, Supreme Ventures ended 30 cents higher at a 52 weeks’ high of $15.30, with 9,314 shares, Victoria Mutual Investments rose 7 cents and concluded trading at $4.07, with 311,254 stock units and Wisynco Group lost 25 cents and finished trading at $9.75 with 1,080,201 units changing hands.
In market activity Barita Investments rose 45 cents and closed at $12, with 3,850 shares, Berger Paints ended at $20, with 1,000 stock units, Caribbean Cement concluded trading with a rise of $1.50 to end at $40.50, while exchanging 40,980 units, Carreras closed at $10.45, with 10,900 shares, Ciboney Group closed at 13 cents, with 141,600 shares, Grace Kennedy settled at $49.50, with 7,132 shares. Jamaica Broilers dropped $4.70 and ended trading at $21.60, with 158,337 shares, Jamaica Producers traded 4,053 stock units at $16.85, Jamaica Stock Exchange rose 20 cents and finished trading at $7.50, with 37,018 units, JMMB Group closed 50 cents higher at $28, with 16,682 shares. Kingston Properties lost 50 cents to end at $6, with 2,100 shares, Kingston Wharves gained 50 cents in concluding trading at $46.50, with 11,018 shares, Mayberry Investments gave up 10 cents and finished at $6.40, with 29,948 stock units, NCB Financial Group rose 50 cents and settled at $97, with 55,490 units. PanJam Investment fell 98 cents and finished trading at $51, with 1,079 shares, Proven Investments closed at $28.50 while 448 units traded, 
Pulse Investments added 19 cents and ended at $1.60, with 1,500 units, Radio Jamaica concluded trading 2 cents higher to $1.10, with 12,917 shares, Sagicor Group lost 55 cents and finished at $39, with 1,023,740 shares, Sagicor Real Estate Fund traded 5,314 units and fell 70 cents to end at $13.80. Salada Foods settled trading with 10,000 shares at $14, Scotia Group jumped $1.49 to end trading at $51.50, with 39,946 stock units changing hands, Seprod traded 8,590 units at $35, Supreme Ventures grew 50 cents and closed at $13.50, with 145,968 shares, Victoria Mutual Investments gained just 1 cent and ended at $4, with 46,455 shares and Wisynco Group concluded trading by adding 10 cents to end at $9.75, with 907,325 stock units being exchanged.
The Jamaica Stock Exchange closed on Friday with a sharp retreat from record close of the indices on Thursday, even as more stocks rose than fell. 
Berger Paints gained 50 cents and ended at $20, with 8,000 stock units, Carreras fell 10 cents and finished at $10.50, with 1,575,999 shares changing hands, Grace Kennedy fell 50 cents to end at $49.50, with 3,116,194 stock units, Jamaica Broilers jumped $3.10 to a new all-time high of $26.30, with 51,790 units changing hands. Jamaica Producers rose 40 and closed at $16.85, with a mere 125 shares, Jamaica Stock Exchange ended at $7.30, with 123,000 shares, JMMB Group concluded trading after falling $1 to close at $27.50, with 658,507 shares, Kingston Wharves settled at $46, with 2,780 units. Mayberry Investments gained 5 cents and ended trading at $6.50, with 35,000 shares, NCB Financial Group climbed $1.23 to $96.50, with 38,364 shares, PanJam Investment jumped $1.33 and ended at $51.98, with 6,155 units, Radio Jamaica settled at $1.08, with 5,921 shares. Sagicor Group ended trading with a rise of 5 cents to $39.55, while exchanging 109,852 stock units and Sagicor Real Estate Fund finished trading at $14.50, with 65,260 stock units. 
Salada Foods traded 10,000 units at $14, Scotia Group dropped $2.99 to finish trading 305,483 shares at $50.01, after the group posted lower profit in the April quarter. Supreme Ventures added 10 cents and settled at $13, with 800,000 shares. Victoria Mutual Investments ended 9 cents richer at $3.99, trading 102,912 shares, Wisynco Group gave up 15 cents in closing trading at $9.65, with 118,424 shares. In the main market preference segment, JMMB Group 7% rose 10 cents to $2.11, with 25,000 shares, JMMB Group 7.25 % gained 3 cents and ended at $2.11, with 25,000 shares, Productivity Business 9.75% finished trading at $103, with 2,000 shares, changing hands.
Trading closed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Thursday, with more than 5,000 points jump in the market indices, after crossing a series of record highs during the trading session and closed at the highest level in the market’s history. 
In market activity, Barita Investments closed at $12.09, with an exchange of 200 shares, Berger Paints ended at $19.50, with 16,000 stock units traded, Carreras closed at $10.60, with 5,130 units, Caribbean Cement gained 20 cents and finished at $39, with 47,447 shares, Ciboney Group rose 1 cent to settle at 13 cents, with 12,000 shares trading. Grace Kennedy added just 1 cent and ended trading at $50, with 2,369 shares, Jamaica Broilers traded at 52 weeks’ high of $23.20, after rising 25 cents with 10,703 stock units, JMMB Group jumped $1 and ended trading at $28.50, with 230,317 shares, Jamaica Producers lost 5 cents and finished trading at $16.45, with 24,901 units changing hands, Jamaica Stock Exchange closed with a rise of 11 cents to $7.30, trading 370 shares. Kingston Properties ended at $6.50 after falling 10 cents, with 1,800 shares, Kingston Wharves jumped $4 and concluded trading at $46, with just 500 shares changing hands, Mayberry Investments rose 44 cents to end at $6.45, with 15,504 stock units, NCB Financial Group settled 9 cents lower at $95.26, with 51,713 units. 1834 Investments dropped 18 cents to $1.06, with 3,500 shares, PanJam Investment finished with a rise of 65 cents to $50.65, trading 6,300 shares, 
Pulse Investments ended at $1.79, exchanging 40,100 units, Radio Jamaica lost 12 and concluded trading at $1.08, with 1,800 shares. Sagicor Group lost 50 cents and ended at $39.50, trading 2,674,599 shares and Sagicor Real Estate Fund lost 50 cents and finished at $14.50, with 1,600 units. Scotia Group gained 1 cent and ended trading at $53, with 2,019,507 stock units trading, Supreme Ventures closed with 48,970 shares trading and fell 10 cents to $12.90, Victoria Mutual Investments ended at $3.90, with 442,461 shares. Wisynco Group concluded trading at $9.80, with 5,360,241 stock units but fell 5 cents in the process. In the main market preference segment, JMMB Group lost 1 cent and ended at $2, with 300 shares, JMMB Group settled at $1, with 642,856 units, changing hands.
Grace Kennedy fell 65 cents and ended trading at $49, with 1,462,365 shares, Jamaica Broilers recovered $2.81 to close at $21, with 19,907 stock units trading. Jamaica Producers lost 10 cents and finished trading at $16.50, with 80,429 units, Jamaica Stock Exchange closed down 39 cents to end at $7, with 25,500 shares, JMMB Group declined 80 cents and ended at $27, with 20,764 shares, Kingston Properties concluded trading at $6.60, with 200 shares. Kingston Wharves finished at $46 after falling 90 cents, with 3,395 stock units, Mayberry Investments settled at $6.45, with 10,756 units, NCB Financial Group gained $1 to end trading at $96, with 34,277 shares, 
138 Student Living settled at $4.68, with a loss of 31 cents trading 100 units, PanJam Investment closed at $45, with 69,332 stock units. Radio Jamaica finished at $1.25, after falling 3 cents with 25,100 shares, Sagicor Group added 20 cents and settled at $38.50, with 1,357,691 shares and Sagicor Real Estate Fund rose 30 cents and finished at $14.30, with 7,998 units. Scotia Group climbed $1.05 in trading 422,278 stock units to close at $51.05, Supreme Ventures closed at $13, exchanging 94,024 shares. Victoria Mutual Investments ended at $4, with 50,009 shares and Wisynco Group concluded trading with a rise of 5 cents to close at $10, in the exchange of 721,410 stock units. In the main market preference segment, JMMB Group 7.25% concluded trading at $1.50, with 1,000 shares and JMMB Group finished at $1, with 106,760 stock units changing hands.
aribbean Cement jumped $1.95 to finish at $40, with 290,000 shares, Grace Kennedy ended trading at $49.65, with 615 shares, Jamaica Broilers dived $3.81 in trading 169,101,565 stock units to close at $18.19, Jamaica Producers gained 35 cents and finished trading at $16.60, with 55,264 units. JMMB Group ended at $27.80 after falling 20 cents, with 32,827 shares, Kingston Wharves climbed $1.90 to end at $46.90, with 8,237 stock units, Mayberry Investments added 35 cents to settle at $6.45, with 16,539 units, NCB Financial Group ended trading at $95 after rising $1, with 30,897 shares changing hands. 1834 Investments traded at $1.16, with 45,000 shares, 138 Student Living lost 10 cents to end at $4.99, with 229 units, PanJam Investment closed at $45, with 16,005 stock units, 
Portland JSX rose 25 cents and ended at $9.50, with 3,000 units, Radio Jamaica finished at $1.28, with 54,000 shares. Sagicor Group rallied $1.30 to settle at $38.30, with 113,627 shares changing hands, Sagicor Real Estate Fund settled at $14, with 16,082 shares, Salada Foods ended trading at $14, with 35,962 stock units, Scotia Group dropped $1.53 in closing trading at $50, with 102,271 units, Sterling Investments closed at $12.80, with 455 shares. Supreme Ventures ended with a gain of 20 to end at $13, with 30,505 shares, Victoria Mutual Investments concluded trading at $4, with 37,052 stock units, Wisynco Group finished at $9.95 having risen 25 cents, with 162,964 units. In the main market preference segment, Jamaica Money Market 7.5% traded at $2, with 972 stock units, Productivity Business 9.75% lost $2 in trading 1,000 shares at $103.
Trading on the JSE main market ended with the overall volume and value falling below normal levels on Monday as 2,736,291 units valued at over $44,287,155 changed hands. 
Grace Kennedy ended trading at $48.60 after rising 10 cents, with 10,193 shares, Jamaica Broilers rose 25 cents in closing at $20.25, with 51,343 stock units, Jamaica Producers fell 45 cents to finish trading at $16.25, with 1,000 units, Jamaica Stock Exchange closed with a loss of 40 cents to $7.10, in trading 700 shares. JMMB Group rose 5 cents to end at $27.05, with 38,277 shares, Kingston Wharves dropped $1 and finished at $46, with 329,678 stock units trading, Mayberry Investments settled at $6.25, after rising 25 cents with 29,780 units trading, NCB Financial Group shed 19 cents and ended trading at $94.80, with 81,775 shares. 138 Student Living settled at $5.09, after slipping 1 cents with 10,000 units, PanJam Investment added 50 cents to trade at $45, with 55,613 shares, Portland JSX closed at $10, with 4,524 stock units, Radio Jamaica rose 29 cents and concluded trading at $1.29, with 22,024 shares, Sagicor Group finished 35 cents higher at $36.50, trading 70,113 shares, Salada Foods lost $1 in settling at $14, with 10,000 shares changing hands. 
Scotia Group ended trading at $50.63, with 4,964 stock units, Seprod ended trading at $35, with 77,744 units, Supreme Ventures rose 40 cents and closed at $13, with 44,500 shares, Victoria Mutual Investments lost 5 cents and ended at $4, with 1,373,388 shares and Wisynco Group rose 30 cents and concluded trading at $10, with 159,255 stock units changing hands. In the main market preference segment, Jamaica Money Market 7.5% traded at $2, with 500 stock units, JMMB Group 7% closed at $2.01, with 124,800 shares, JMMB Group 7.25% issued in 2019 ended at $2.05, with 24,800 shares and the older dated JMMB Group 7.25% concluded trading at $1.50, with 100 shares, changing hands.
