The Junior Main Market rose four out of five trading days this past week, with the market gaining 2.5 percent while the Main Market lost just under 2,000 points for a loss of half of one percent.
Scotia Group this week’s featured stock
In the last week of May, the Junior Market index gained 3 percent in continuation of a 4 percent rise in the prior week while the Main Market rose 2 percent, with less than a percentage point rise for the previous week.
IC Insider.com TOP 10 weekly reports indicated for some time that the best buys in the Jamaican markets are in the Junior Market, investors by their actions since the market dived in March are confirming this by pushing the Junior Market at a faster pace than the Main Market.
For the Junior Market TOP 10, CAC 2000 and KLE Group dropped out, with full-year earnings, downgraded, with the loss incurred for the six months for CAC and KLE struggling from lack of business due to coronavirus, with little possibility of either of them making up grounds to put them back in TOP 10 contention, for 2020. Elite Diagnostic price climbed from $3.74 to $4.17 and moved out of the group. Replacing the stocks dropping out of the TOP 10 are Caribbean Assurance Brokers, Jamaican Teas and Medical Disposables.
There was no change to the TOP 10 Main Market this past week.
This week’s focus: Scotia Group released half-year results to April this past week, but investors are concerned about the impact of bad loans on the profits of banks and they may be overreacting to it. Scotia Group reported a net income of $4.02 billion for the six months to April compared to $5.62 billion for the corresponding period last year. Excluding additional loan provisions of $1.11 billion due to the revision of expected credit losses, net income would be down $488 million or 8.7 percent. When the added loan provision and reduced fee income are taken into consideration, the second quarter, the results would have beaten the pretax profit in 2019, by a small margin.
The group loan portfolio increased $34 billion or 18 percent year over year, primarily due to 28 percent growth in commercial loans, with delinquency of only 0.8 percent. 
The retail loan portfolio increased 11 percent over the prior year and included a 14 percent increase in mortgages. The growth in loans is the most critical factor in determining likely gains in profit going forward.
The past week closed with the three top Junior Market stocks with the potential to gain between 260 to 692 percent by March 2021 are Caribbean Producers, followed by Lasco Financial and Lumber Depot. In the Main Market, Radio Jamaica continues to lead, followed by Berger Paints and JMMB Group, with expected gains of 165 to 233 percent.
The targeted average PE ratio of the market is 20 based on the profits of companies reporting full year’s results for the financial year ending after the second quarter of 2020 up to the second quarter in 2021. Both the Junior and Main markets are currently trading well below this level. The JSE Main Market ended the week, with an overall PE of 14 and the Junior Market at just 9.3, based on current 2020-21 earnings. 
The PE ratio for Junior Market Top 10 stocks averages a mere 5.7 at just 61 percent to the average of the overall Junior Market. The Main Market TOP 10 stocks trade at 8.6 or 62 percent of the PE of the overall market.
The average projected gain for the IC TOP 10 stocks is 283 percent, for the Junior Market and 140 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.
IC TOP 10 stocks are likely to deliver some of the best returns up to March 2021. Expected gains are computed based on earnings and PE ratios for the current fiscal year. 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. Revisions to earnings per share are ongoing, based on receipt of new information.
Persons who compiled this report may have an interest in securities commented on in this report.
At the close of market activities, the prices of 12 securities advanced, eight declined and 11 remained unchanged. The PE ratio of the market ended at 9.8 times IC Insider.com projected 2020-21 earnings.
At the close of the market, Access Financial jumped $2.24 to settle at $24.75 with just 100 shares changing hands, AMG Packaging ended trading with 100 shares, after rising 11 cents to settle at $1.70, Cargo Handlers gained 49 cents in exchanging 300 units at $7. Caribbean Flavours climbed $2.80 to settle at $14.50 with 22,728 shares trading, Dolphin Cove lost 47 cents in trading of 8,148 units at $7.80. Express Catering fell by 10 cents trading 48,700 units at $4.20, Fontana lost 2cents trading 56,326 units at $5.97, Fosrich closed 38 cents higher at $3.80, with an exchange of 1,050 stock units, 
Junior Main Market stocks pulled back this week, resulting in few changes to the IC Insider.com TOP 10 lists as the market may be caught in the usual early summer of consolidation ahead of the release of second-quarter results.
In the Main Market, Radio Jamaica continues to lead, followed by Berger Paints and JMMB Group with projected gains of 165 to 210 percent.
The PE ratio for Junior Market Top 10 stocks averages a mere 5.1 at 53 percent to the average of the overall Junior Market. The Main Market TOP 10 stocks trade at 8.6 or 60 percent of the PE of the market.
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. Revisions to 
At the close, the Junior Market Index declined 5.69 points to close at 2,549.07 with 26 securities changing hands, in an exchange of 1,400,627 units for $3,764,005 compared to 2,120,809 units at $5,882,853 from the trading of 33 securities on Thursday.
At the close of the market, Blue Power rose 22 cents to end at $3.86, with 20,000 stock units changing hands, Cargo Handlers closed with an exchange of 10,000 units and gained 30 cents to end at $6.51, Caribbean Producers ended trading with 75,841 shares, after rising 2 cents to close at $2.40. Consolidated Bakeries shed 13 cents in trading 100 units at $1.51, Dolphin Cove climbed 50 cents and exchanged 433 shares at $8.30, Express Catering declined by 5 cents to settle at $4.35, after trading 11,507 units. Fontana closed 1 cent higher at $6, with the trading of 54,638 stock units, General Accident lost 11 cents in exchanging 8,500 shares to close at $5.30, Honey Bun declined by 25 cents trading 10,742 units to settle at $5.30, iCreate ended trading with 104,081 shares, after rising 3 cents to end at 54 cents. Jamaican Teas declined by 45 cents trading of 171,503 units at $4.53, Knutsford Express shed 90 cents to settle at $8 in exchanging 872 units, 
Lasco Financial closed trading of 10,101 units and gained 24 cents to end at $2.65. Lasco Manufacturing declined by 12 cents in exchanging 117,442 shares to close at $3.90, Limners and Bards closed 5 cents higher at $2.05, with 227,798 stock units changing hands, Lumber Depot added 2 cents to close at $1.13, with 121,357 stock units trading. Mailpac Group ended trading with 127,888 shares, after rising 1 cent to end at $1.87, Medical Disposables closed trading with 7,156 shares, after gaining 12 cents to end at $6.88 and Paramount Trading ended with a loss of 1 cent at $1.98 with 150,500 stock units changing hands.
At the close of market activities, the prices of 9 securities advanced, 12 declined and 14 remained unchanged. The Junior Market Index declined by 7.12 points to close at 2,589.65. 
Blue Power closed with a loss of 10 cents at $3.60, with an exchange of 50,000 shares, CAC 2000 declined by 9 cents in trading of 2,575 units at $9.30. Cargo Handlers ended trading with 6,921 shares, after rising 19 cents to close at $6.40, Caribbean Cream ended t with 35,115 shares changing hands after rising 33 cents to settle at $2.80. Caribbean Flavours fell 70 cents in exchanging 20,000 shares to close at $11.30, Derrimon Trading dipped 25 cents in trading of 100 units at $2.35, Dolphin Cove fell 40 cents with 11,200 units changing hands at $7.40. Elite Diagnostic closed trading of 8,446 units and gained 5 cents to end at $3.47, Express Catering ended with a loss of 1 cent at $4.35 with 25,692 stock units changing hands, Fosrich closed with a loss of 85 cents at $3.15 swapping 6,300 shares. General Accident lost 51 cents in trading of 97,860 units at $5.52, GWest Corporation exchanged 10,996 shares to close at 95 cents, after falling 5 cents, Honey Bun climbed 25 cents and exchanged 85,194 shares at $5.45. 
Jamaican Teas ended trading with 118,470 shares, after rising 40 cents to end at $5, Jetcon Corporation closed 3 cents higher at 85 cents, with 41,800 stock units trading, Knutsford Express closed 8 cents higher at $8.60, trading 3,910 stock units. Lasco Distributors lost 2 cents with 717,278 shares changing hands to close at $2.91, Lasco Manufacturing declined by 22 cents in trading of 169,108 units at $4.28, Main Event lost 32 cents in ending at $4.18 while exchanging 9,108 shares and Medical Disposables climbed 22 cents and traded 14,727 shares at $6.75.
In contrast to Monday’s high volume, just 4,090,696 units valued at $13,986,258 changed hands from 31 securities on Friday.
At the close of the market, Access Financial climbed 5 cents to $23.05 with 1,242,213 shares trading, AMG Packaging ended at $1.61 after rising 6 cents and swapping 19,611 stock units, Cargo Handlers rose 16 cents in the exchange of 189,409 units to finish at $6.21. Caribbean Assurance Brokers slipped 1 cent and traded 54,706 stock units to close at $2.29, Caribbean Cream fell 9 cents to $2.75 with 272,900 shares changing hands, Caribbean Flavours jumped by $1.30 to close at $11.30 with the swapping of 2,152 stock units. Caribbean Producers gained 4 cents and exchanged 328,436 stocks to settle at $2.40, Derrimon Trading dropped 28 cents to end at $2.32 with 3,285,500 shares changing hands, Dolphin Cove closed trading of 1,100 stock units and gained 55 cents to end at $7.80. Elite Diagnostic lost 10 cents in the exchange of 7,191 units to finish at $3.40, Everything Fresh closed 2 cents higher at 75 cents with 21,000 shares traded, Express Catering settled at $4.40 after losing 5 cents and swapping 77,382 stock units. Fontana shed 14 cents in exchange of 150,506 shares to end at $5.80, General Accident traded 605,700 units and fell 20 cents to close at $6.05, Honey Bun climbed 28 cents exchanging 38,480 shares to finish at $5.40. Jamaican Teas exchanged 2,762,864 units and lost 7 cents to close at $4.63, Jetcon Corporation slipped 1 cent to 89 cents with 3,033 stock units changing hands, 
Knutsford Express closed with a loss of 54 cents at $8.41 in the swapping of 100 shares. Lasco Distributors climbed 15 cents and exchanged 983,238 stock units to end at $3.10, Lasco Financial fell 20 cents in the trading 523,159 units to finish at $2.50, Lasco Manufacturing ended market activity at $4.79 after exchanging 91,830 shares and falling 11 cents. Limners and Bards slid 1 cent to $1.83 with 59,463 units changing hands, Lumber Depot exchanged 2,136,838 stock units after losing 1 cent to close at $1.13, Medical Disposables dipped 1 cent to $6.89 with 23,450 shares traded. Paramount Trading ended 1 cent lower at $1.98 with 38,130 stock units changing hands and Stationery and Office Supplies climbed 9 cents to $6.30 with 35,953 crossing the exchange.
This week’s focus: 
The rise in the market during the past week did little for IC TOP 10 stocks, resulting in no movement in or out of the TOP 10.
The targeted average PE ratio of the market is 20 based on the profits of companies reporting full year’s results for the financial year ending after the second quarter of 2020 up to the second quarter in 2021. Both the Junior and Main markets are currently trading well below this level. The JSE Main Market ended the week, with an overall PE of 14 and the Junior Market at just 9.6, based on current 2020-21 earnings. The PE ratio for Junior Market Top 10 stocks averages a mere 5.1 at just 53 percent to the average of the overall Junior Market. The Main Market TOP 10 stocks trade at 8.7 or 62 percent of the PE of the overall market.
The average projected gain for the IC TOP 10 stocks is 330 percent, for the Junior Market and 138 percent for the JSE Main Market, based on 2020-21 earnings, an indication that there is greater potential to make greater gains in the Junior Market than in the Main Market.
In the Main Market, Proven Investments dropped out of the TOP 10 and replaced by Victoria Mutual Investments.
The new subsidiary, Trinidad based MotorOne Insurance made a small loss of $2 million in the quarter, an indication that not much contribution to profit is expected from it for the current year, it could add to 2021 profit for the group. Total assets of the company grew substantially since March last year from $7.5 billion to $12 billion in the current year, with liabilities rising by $3.5 billion.
One company that has seen an uptick in business, Jamaican Teas, had to lay on new work shifts and extra production days to keep up with export demand.
The PE ratio for Junior Market Top 10 stocks averages a mere 5.2 with or 55 percent to the average of the overall Junior Market. The Main Market TOP 10 stocks trade at 8.7 or 62 percent of the PE of the overall market.
Cargo Handlers closed 5 cents higher at $6.55, with 190 stock units trading, Caribbean Cream climbed 15 cents and exchanged 734 shares at $2.69, Caribbean Producers closed 11 cents higher at $2.52, with 477,643 stock units trading. Derrimon Trading closed 7 cents higher at $2.50, with 17,431 stock units traded, Elite Diagnostic declined by 59 cents in exchanging 9,360 units at $3.29, Express Catering climbed 16 cents and exchanged 18,269 shares at $3.51, Fosrich closed 30 cents higher after trading 99,267 stock units at $4. Fontana closed trading of 96,620 units and gained 34 cents to end at $5.90, General Accident closed 2 cents higher at $6.01, with 648,867 stock units trading. Honey Bun climbed 45 cents and exchanged 52,137 shares at $5.45, iCreate closed with 112,094 units passing through the market and gained 2 cents to end at 55 cents, Iron Rock Insurance declined by 9 cents to settle at $3.90, with 3,000 units changing hands. Jamaican Teas ended trading of 125,687 units with gains of 39 cents to end at $4.29, Jetcon Corporation closed with a loss of 8 cents at 80 cents swapping 28,000 shares, Knutsford Express closed trading of 500 units and gained 20 cents to end at $8.70. 
Lasco Distributors declined by 10 cents trading 630,500 units at $2.90, Lasco Manufacturing fell by 30 cents exchanging 797,613 units at $4, Limners and Bards dipped 8 cents trading 198,771 units at $1.82. Lumber Depot shed 2 cents trading 370,242 units at $1.12, MailPac Group closed with a loss of 3 cents at $1.88 swapping 251,508 shares, Medical Disposables shed 5 cents transferring 22,711 units at $7. Main Event lost 10 cents in trading of 18,000 units at $4.08, Stationery and Office Supplies lost 5 cents 20,757 units changing hands at $6. SSL Venture ended market activity while exchanging 18,400 shares to close at 75 cents, after falling 10 cents and tTech closed with a loss of 9 cents at $4.41 after swapping 42,269 shares.
The three top Junior Market stocks with the potential to gain between 355 to 663 percent by 2021 are
he targeted average PE ratio of the market is 20 based on the profits of companies reporting full year’s results for the financial year ending after this year’s second quarter and up to the second quarter in 2021. Both the Junior and Main markets are currently trading well below this level. The JSE Main Market ended the week, with an overall PE of 13.6 and the Junior Market a mere 8.9, based on current 2020-21 earnings. The PE ratio for Junior Market Top 10 stocks averages a mere 5 with the Main Market at a much higher level of 8.4.
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. Revisions to earnings per share are ongoing, based on receipt of new information.