Lumber Depot dominates Monday’s trade

Lumber Depot commanded the lion’s share of Junior Market trading on Monday after the company reported a 40 percent jump in earnings to reach $29.9 million for the first quarter to July, with revenues rising 11 percent over the comparable period last year.

Lumber Depot dominated trading with

The company earned 5 cents per share for the quarter or about 20 cents for the full year.
Trading closed on Monday, with the market rising despite more stocks falling than advancing after investors traded 499 percent more shares than on Friday with the total swollen by Lumber Depot’s big trade. Trading ended with 30 securities changing hands compared to 33 on Friday and concluded with the prices of eight stocks rising, the prices of 19 companies declining and three with prices remaining unchanged.
At the close, the Junior Market Index inched higher by 7.12 points to 2,521.94. The average PE Ratio of the market ended at 10.6 based on IC Insider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
The market closed with an exchange of 12,259,583 shares for $15,273,356 compared to 2,048,087 units at $5,393,700 on Friday.
Lumber Depot led trading with 90.7 percent of the total volume of 11.12 million shares followed by Indies Pharma with 206,274 units for 1.7 percent of the day’s trade and Mailpac Group with 181,248 units for 1.5 percent market share.
Trading ended with an average of 408,653 units at $509,112 in contrast to an average of 62,063 shares at $163,445 on Friday. For the month to date, there was an average trade of 106,7,80 units at $244,156, in comparison to 75,003 units at $216,266  on Friday. Trading in August resulted in an average of 104,426  units at $321,996.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows three stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and four with lower offers.
At the close of the market, Access Financial gained $4.28 to end at $25.79 with 254 shares changing hands, AMG Packaging lost 16 cents to finish at $1.60 with 2,515 units exchanged, Caribbean Assurance Brokers fell 14 cents to $1.91 with 2,505 shares passing through the market. Caribbean Flavors shed 84 cents to settle at $17.60 with 3,640 units traded, Caribbean Producers closed 4 cents lower at $2.32 in an exchange of 80,959 stocks, Derrimon Trading dropped 30 cents to end at $2.55 with investors switching ownership of 10,000 shares.  Dolphin Cove jumped 90 cents to finish at $6.90 with 193 shares changing hands, Everything Fresh slipped 6 cents and exchanged 29,124 units to settle at 65 cents, Express Catering rose 2 cents to close at $3.95 with investors transferring 106,049 stocks. Fontana lost 1 cent to end at $4.73 with 62,635 stocks passing through the market, Fosrich declined 5 cents to settle at $3.60 in an exchange of 16,943 stocks, General Accident dropped 8 cents to finish at $6 with 33,404 stocks units changing hands. GWest Corporation rose 2 cents to end at 98 cents with 24,000 stocks traded, Honey Bun shed 29 cents to close at $4.71 with investors transferring 5,000 units, Indies Pharma dropped 23 cents to settle at $2.62 in an exchange of 206,274 units. Lasco Distributors slipped  8 cents to close at $3.05 with 7,092 units changing hands, Lasco Financial declined by 2 cents to finish at $2.12 with 70,935 stocks traded, Lasco Manufacturing gained 6 cents to end at $3.79 with 32,978 shares passing through the market. Limners and Bards dropped 32 cents to close at $2.48 with investors switching ownership of  61,016 units, Lumber Depot exchanged 11,123,785 shares and advanced 5 cents to settle at $1.10, Mailpac Group slipped 1 cent to $2 with 181,248 stock units traded.  Main Event fell 11 cents to end at $3.39 with 2,418  stocks switching hands, Medical Disposables finished 1 cent higher at $4.71 with an exchange of 1,123  shares, Paramount Trading lost 5 cents to settle at $1.50 with investors switching ownership of 146,900 stock units. SSL Venture fell 1 cent to close at 70 cents in an exchange of 35,144 shares, Stationery and Office Supplies dropped 39 cents to end at a 52 weeks’ low of $5.20 with a mere 11 stock units trading and tTech jumped 75 cents in finishing at $5.75 with 281 units crossing the exchange.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

Quiet week for IC TOP 10

The past week was quiet for IC TOP 10 listings, resulting in no change to the list at the end of the week that saw the local market trading in a narrow band and the Junior Market closing at the highest point since August 28 and the Main Market since the end of August.

Scotiabank profit drops in Jamaica.

The top three stocks in each market saw no change in ranking, leaving the top three Junior Market stocks, with the potential to gain between 292 to 695 percent by March 2021. Caribbean Producers heads the list, followed by Lasco Financial and Elite Diagnostic. The focus on all three is on the 2021 fiscal year results, projected to show recovery from the 2020 financial year final numbers. The top three Main Market stocks, with expected gains of 205 to 264 percent, are Berger Paints followed by Radio Jamaica and JMMB Group. All three suffered declines during the week.
This week’s focus: Scotia Group reported a net income of $5.56 billion for the nine months ending in July, compared to $9.79 billion for the corresponding 2019 period. Overall, loans advanced, grew 12 percent mainly due to the strong performance of the Commercial Banking unit, increasing 24 percent versus the prior year. Retail loan grew 5 percent year over year, driven by strong mortgage growth of 16 percent. Total revenues, excluding expected credit losses for the nine months, ended July at $32.1 billion, a reduction of $1.7 billion or 5.1 percent, compared to 2019. For the July 2020 quarter, gross revenues fell from $12.4 billion to $11 billion, with non-interest income contributing $1.1 billion to the decline. Administrative and other expenses were essentially flat at $5.8 billion year over year, a $2 billion increase in provision for expected loan loss helped push profit down in the quarter, to $1.55 billion from $4.2 billion in 2019. Notably, while loans amounting to $221 billion at the end of July grew 12 percent year over year, loans declined modestly from $223 billion at the end of April, the result of the increased credit loss provisioning.
The targeted average PE ratio of the market is 20 based on the profits of companies reporting full year’s results, from now to the second quarter in 2021. Both the Junior and Main markets are currently trading well below this level, an indication of the potential gains ahead. The JSE Main Market ended the week, with an overall PE of 15.1 and the Junior Market 10.9, based on IC Insider.com’s projected 2020-21 earnings. The average PE ratio of the Junior Market has been slowly rising, with better profit opportunities than the Main Market and narrowing the gap. The PE ratio for the Junior Market Top 10 stocks average a mere 6 at just 55 percent to the average of the overall Junior Market. The Main Market TOP 10 stocks trade at a PE of 8.2 or 54 percent of the PE of the overall market.
The average projected gain for the Junior Market IC TOP 10 stocks is 279 percent, and 153 percent for the JSE Main Market, based on 2020-21 earnings, an indication of potentially, greater gains in the Junior Market than in the Main Market.
IC TOP 10 stocks are likely to deliver the best returns up to March 2021 and ranked in order of potential gains, based on likely gain for each company, taking into account the earnings and PE ratios for the current fiscal year.  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.

Junior Market closes with gains

The Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange closed on Friday, with the market rising with advancing stocks were edged out by declining ones, after an exchange of 41 percent fewer shares than on Thursday.
Trading concluded with 33 securities changing hands, up from 31 on Thursday and ended, with the prices of 13 stocks rising, the prices of 14 declining and six with prices remaining unchanged.
At the close, the Junior Market Index increased 18.3 points to settle at 2,514.82, the highest point since August 28. The average PE Ratio of the market ended at 10.6  based on IC Insider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
The market closed with an exchange of  2,048,087 shares for $5,393,700  compared to 3,485,582 units at $7,773,090 on Thursday. Mailpac Group led trading with 31.2 percent of total volume for 639,248 shares, followed by Lasco Distributors with 26.3 percent and 539,293 units and  Lumber Depot with 7.7 percent market share, with 158,533 shares.
Trading ended with an average of 62,063 units at $163,445 in contrast to 112,438 at $250,745 on Thursday. For the month to date, the average trade resulted in an exchange of 75,003  units at $216,266, in comparison to 76,698 units at $223,183 on Thursday. Trading in August resulted in an average of 104,426 units at $321,996.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows two stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with a lower offer.
At the close of the market, Access Financial dropped  $4.49 to end at $21.51 in an exchange of just 11 shares, AMG Packaging dropped 22 cents to finish at $1.76 with a mere ten units trading, Blue Power fell 12 cents to settle at $3.30 with 1,500 stock units passing through the market. Cargo Handlers lost 30 cents to close at $7, trading 10,000 shares, Caribbean Assurance Brokers gained 14 cents to end at $2.05 with 116,159 units changing hands, Caribbean Cream shed 40 cents to finish at $4 with investors switching ownership of 36,150 shares. Caribbean Flavours fell 3 cents to settle at $18.44 with 3,309 stocks passing through the market, Derrimon Trading advanced 34 cents to end at $2.85 in an exchange of 18,707 shares, Elite Diagnostic closed 33 cents higher at $3.39 with investors transferring 10,050 units. Express Catering slipped 2 cents to $3.93 with 19,201 stock units traded, Fontana lost 3 cents to finish at $4.74 with 138,448 shares passing through the market, General Accident gained 8 cents to end at $6.08 in an exchange of 868 stock units. iCreate rose 4 cents to settle at 70 cents with 3,306 stocks changing hands, Indies Pharma gained 7 cents to close at $2.85 with135,634 stock units traded, Jamaican Teas gained 14 cents to finish at $4.69 with investors switching ownership of 48,000 stock units. Jetcon Corporation lost 7 cents to end at 85 cents in an exchange of 2,550 shares, KLE Group declined by 6 cents to finish at $1.36 with 1,000 shares changing hands, Lasco Distributors traded 539,293 stock units and advanced 10 cents to settle at $3.13. Lasco Financial rose 2 cents to close at $2.14 with investors transferring 3,750 units, Lasco Manufacturing fell 6 cents to end at $3.73 in an exchange of 1,136 shares, Limners and Bards slid 2 cents to $2.80 with 75,975 shares passing through the market. Lumber Depot finished 1 cent higher at $1.05 with 158,533 shares changing hands, Mailpac Group traded 639,248 stock units and gained 1 cent to settle at $2.01, Main Event rose 5 cents to end at $3.50 in an exchange of 501 shares. Medical Disposables advanced 8 cents to end at $4.70 with investors switching ownership of 500 stocks and Paramount Trading fell 5 cents to settle at $1.55 with 14,333 units crossing the exchange.
In the preference segment, Derrimon Trading dropped 40 cents to close at $1.90, with 54,533 stocks changing hands.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

Junior Market inches forward – Thursday

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Trading ended, with 112 percent more shares on Thursday than Wednesday, in the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange and resulted in the market rising after more stocks rose than declined.

Junior Market trades

Trading concluded with 31 securities changing hands compared to 30 on Wednesday and ended with the prices of 18 stocks rising, the prices of 11 stocks declining and two closing with prices unchanged.
At the close, the Junior Market Index edged higher by 10.46 points to settle at 2,496.52. The average PE Ratio of the market ended at 10.7 based on IC Insider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
The market closed with an exchange of 3,485,582 shares for $7,773,090 compared to 1,646,343 units at $5,834,341 on Wednesday.  Mailpac Group led trading with 75 percent of total volume and accounting for 2.61 million shares, followed by Everything Fresh with 6.3 percent or 220,271 units and  Lasco Distributors with 161,025 units for 4.6 percent.
Trading ended with an average of 112,438 units at $250,745 in contrast to 54,878 at $194,478 on Wednesday. For the month to date, the average trade resulted in an exchange of 76,698 units at $223,185, in comparison to 71,685 units at $219,317  on Wednesday. Trading in August resulted in an average of 104,426  units at $321,996.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows two stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and three with lower offers.
At the close of the market, Access Financial jumped $4.50 to finish at $26 with investors trading 8,406 shares, AMG Packaging fell 13 cents to $1.98 with 501 units changing hands, Blue Power ended 1 cent higher at $3.42 with a mere four shares passing through the market. Caribbean Flavours advanced 17 cents to $18.47 in an exchange of 25,819 units, Caribbean Producers rose 4 cents to close at $2.36 with 2,254 shares traded, Consolidated Bakeries gained 5 cents to settle at $1.50 with investors switching ownership of 300 stock units. Derrimon Trading added 1 cent to finish at $2.51 with an exchange of 400 shares, Elite Diagnostic lost 14 cents to end at $3.06 with 2,046 units passing through the market, Everything Fresh gained 3 cents and traded 220,271 shares to close at 71 cents. Express Catering declined 40 cents to settle at $3.95, with 40,000 stocks changing hands, Fontana rose 1 cent to finish at $4.77 with investors transferring 7,385 shares, Fosrich increased 5 cents to settle at $3.65 in an exchange of 1,061 stock units. General Accident shed 37 cents and traded 33,582 stock units to end at $6, GWest Corporation lost 3 cents to close at 96 cents with 100 shares changing hands, Honey Bun advanced 29 cents to finish at $5 with investors switching ownership of 5,359 stock units. Indies Pharma climbed 27 cents to settle at $2.78  with 128,963 stock units passing through the market, Jamaican Teas fell 5 cents to close at $4.55 with  1,423 stocks traded,  Jetcon Corporation finished 1 cent lower at 92 cents in an exchange of 5,600 shares. Lasco Distributors rose 2 cents to end at $3.03 with 161,025 stock units changing hands, Lasco Financial rose 4 cents and traded 24,216 stock units to close at $2.12, Lasco Manufacturing gained 4 cents to end at $3.79 with investors switching ownership of 2,263 stocks. Limners and Bards fell 3 cents to settle at $2.82 with an exchange of  76,057  shares,  Lumber Depot rose 4 cents to close at $1.04 with  76,089 stock units passing through the market, Mailpac Group traded 2,614,710 stock units and declined 9 cents to end at $2.Medical Disposables climbed 12 cents to settle at $4.62 with 500 units changing hands, Paramount Trading gained 6 cents to close at $1.60 in an exchange of 20,000 stock units, SSL Venture declined by 4 cents to close at 71 cents with 22,156 stocks traded.  Stationery and Office Supplies slipped 1 cent to $5.59, with investors switching ownership of 2,240  shares and tTech gained 99 cents to end at $5, with 1,080 stock units crossing the exchange.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

Junior Market slips on Wednesday

The Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange closed on  Wednesday, with the market declining after more stocks rose than fell after investors traded 42 percent fewer shares than on Tuesday.
Trading ended with 30 securities changing hands compared to 36 on Tuesday and closed with the prices of 13 stocks rising, 10 declining and seven remaining unchanged. At the close, the Junior Market Index dropped 17.95 points to settle at 2,486.06. The average PE Ratio of the market ended at 10.6 based on IC Insider.com forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
The market closed with an exchange of 1,646,343 shares for $5,834,341 compared to 2,784,308 units  at $8,636,136 on Tuesday. Express
Catering
accounted for 28.4 percent of total volume, with 468,000 shares, followed by Lumber Depot, with 13 percent 214,116 units and MailPac Group with 198,740 units for 12.1 percent.
Trading ended with an average of 54,878 units at $194,478 in contrast to 77,342 at $239,893  on  Tuesday. For the month to date, the average trade resulted in an exchange of 71,685 units at $219,317,  in comparison to 71,160 units at $197,612 on Tuesday. Trading in August resulted in an average of 104,426 units at $321,996.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows four stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and five with lower offers.
At the close of the market, AMG Packaging gained 11 cents to end at $2.11 in trading 15,758  shares, Blue Power rose 12 cents in closing at  $3.41, with 2,000 units changing hands, Cargo Handlers picked up 2 cents to finish at $7.30 in trading 468 stock units. Caribbean Assurance Brokers ended at $1.91 after gaining 1 cent with an exchange of 39,656  shares, Caribbean Cream rose 34 cents to settle at $4.40, after 21,897 stock units passed through the market, Caribbean Flavours lost 19 cents ending at $18.30, with 50,609 shares changing hands. Caribbean Producers lost 4 cents trading 21,578 stock units to settle at $2.32, Dolphin Cove shed 50 cents to finish at $6, with an exchange of 7,924 stock units, Elite Diagnostic gained 15 cents in transferring 6,000 stock units and closed at $3.20. Everything Fresh ended at 68 cents, with gains of 3 cents after exchanging 6,300 units, Express Catering rose 40 cents to $4.35 in trading 468,000 shares, Fontana picked up 1 cent to close at $4.76, with 66,012 units crossing the exchange. General Accident lost 5 cents to end at $6.37, in trading 6,482 stock units, Honey Bun lost 25 cents to close at $4.71 after 1,728 units crossed the market, Indies Pharma shed 27 cents in closing at $2.51, with 186,538 shares crossing the exchange. Lasco Financial lost 7 cents to end at $2.08 after exchanging 35,513 shares, Lasco  Manufacturing shed 4 cents to close at $3.75, after trading 22,855 shares, Limners and Bards gained 9 cents to end at $2.85, exchanging 9,935 stock units. MailPac Group gained 4 cents to end at $2.09, with 198,740  shares changing hands, Main Event rose 5 cents to end at $3.45, in an exchange of 1,098 units, Medical Disposables shed 30 cents to finish at $4.50  trading 64,000  stock units. Paramount Trading gained 2 cents to end at $1.54, with 1,700 units changing hands and tTech fell 76 cents to  $4.01, with 123 shares clearing the market.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

Lasco is back in IC TOP 10

Lasco Distributors and Medical Disposables are back in the Junior Market IC TOP 10 while there are no changes to the Main Market IC TOP 10 listing.
Stationery and Office Supplies and Jetcon Corporation dropped out of the Junior Market list, the former earning, was revised down for 2020, with the loss incurred in the June quarter while Jetcon price inched up, to be squeezed out of the top stocks.
The top three stocks in each market saw little change in ranking, leaving the top three Junior Market stocks, with the potential to gain between 292 to 695 percent by March 2021. Caribbean Producers heads the list, followed by Lasco Financial and Elite Diagnostic, the focus on all three is on the 2021 fiscal year results that are projected to show recovery from the 2020 financial year final numbers. The top three Main Market stocks, with expected gains of 205 to 264 percent are Berger Paints followed by Radio Jamaica and JMMB Group, all three suffered declines during the week.
The targeted average PE ratio of the market is 20 based on the profit of companies reporting full year’s results, from now to the second quarter in 2021. Both the Junior and Main markets are currently trading well below this level, an indication of the potential gains ahead. The JSE Main Market ended the week, with an overall PE of 15 and the Junior Market 10.8, based on IC Insider.com’s projected 2020-21 earnings. The average PE ratio of the Junior Market has been slowly rising, with better profit opportunities than the Main Market and narrowing the gap. The PE ratio for the Junior Market Top 10 stocks average a mere 6 at just 56 percent to the average of the overall Junior Market. The Main Market TOP 10 stocks trade at a PE of 8.1 or 54 percent of the PE of the overall market.
The average projected gain for the Junior Market IC TOP 10 stocks is 279 percent, and 157 percent for the JSE Main Market, based on 2020-21 earnings, an indication of potentially, greater gains in the Junior Market than in the Main Market.
IC TOP 10 stocks are likely to deliver the best returns up to March 2021 and ranked in order of potential gains, based on likely gain for each company, taking into account the earnings and PE ratios for the current fiscal year.  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.

Junior Market stocks jump 42 points

The Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange closed on Tuesday, with the market index jumping after more stocks rose than fall as investors traded 141 percent more shares than they did on Monday.
Trading concluded with 36 securities changing hands compared to 32 on Monday and ended with the prices of 17 stocks rising, the prices of 12 stocks declining and seven stocks with prices remaining unchanged.
At the end of the day’s activities, the Junior Market Index carved out a gain of 42.01 points to settle at 2,504.01, to record the highest one-day increase since the index surged 84 points on August 29. The average PE Ratio of the market ended at 10.6 based on IC Insider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
The market closed with an exchange of 2,784,308 shares for $8,636,136 compared to 1,154,861 units at $3,676,960 on Monday. Jetcon Corporation led trading with 14.7 percent of total volume for 408,415 shares, followed by Express Catering, with 12 percent or 335,032 units and Stationery and Office Supplies, with 9.2 percent for 257,217 units.
Trading ended with an average of 77,342 units at $239,893 in contrast to 36,089 at $114,905 on Monday. For the month to date, the average trade resulted in an exchange of 71,160 units at $197,612, in comparison to 73,624 units at $219,345 on Monday. Trading in  August resulted in an average of 104,426 units at $321,996.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows three stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and two with lower offers.
At the close of the market, Access Financial climbed 41 cents to end at $21.50 in an exchange of 468 shares, AMG Packaging gained 42 cents to settle at $2 after investors transferred 111,815 units, Cargo Handlers jumped $1.22 to finish at $7.28 with 2,073 stock units changing hands. Caribbean Assurance Brokers dropped 17 cents to close at $1.90 with the trading of 135,152  shares, Caribbean Cream shed 68 cents to settle at $4.06 in an exchange of 44,990 stock units, Caribbean Flavours advanced 59 cents to end at $18.49 with investors switching ownership of 31,912 shares. Caribbean Producers lost 4 cents to finish at $2.36  with 51,422 stock units traded, Consolidated Bakeries rose 10 cents to close at $1.45 with investors transferring 3,500  stocks, Dolphin Cove jumped 99 cents to settle at $6.50 with 9,217 stock units changing hands. Everything Fresh declined 5 cents to finish at 65 cents with  250 units crossing through the market, Express Catering exchanged 335,032  units and gained 15 to end at $3.95, Fontana closed 2 cents higher at $4.75 with 161,042 shares traded.  Fosrich lost 42 cents to close at $3.60 with 712 units passing through the exchange,  General Accident advanced 32 cents to settle at $6.42 with investors switching ownership of 60,960 stock units, GWest Corporation rose 16 cents to finish at 99 cents with an exchange of 21,000 shares. Honey Bun gained 26 cents in trading 80,217 shares to settle at $4.96,  iCreate fell 8 cents to end at 66 cents with 37,162  shares changing hands, Indies Pharma slipped 1 cent to $2.78 with an exchange of 21,408 stocks. Iron Rock Insurance declined 5 cents to settle at $2.85  with investors switching ownership of 13,319 stock units, Jamaican Teas lost 9 cents to close at $4.60 with 118,300  stock units changing hands, Jetcon Corporation rose 9 cents and exchanged 408,415 shares to end at 93 cents. Knutsford Express gained 10 cents to end at $6.90 with investors transferring 5,350 shares, Lasco Distributors rose 1 cent to settle at $3.01 with an exchange of 47,841 units, Limners and Bards closed 1 cent higher at $2.76  with 51,824 stock units changing hands.  Lumber Depot fell 5 cents to end at $1 with 157,348 shares passing through the market, Mailpac Group added 1 cent and exchanged 143,925 stocks to settle at $2.05,  Main Event declined  30 cents to close at $3.40 with 26,047 stock units traded and tTech dropped 73 cents to end at  $4.77 with 16,227 units crossing the exchange.
In the preference segment, CAC 2000 9.5% increased 1 cent in closing at $1.16, with investors swapping 150,000 stocks units.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

Junior Market traded mixed on Tuesday

Trading was mixed on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Monday, with 30 percent fewer shares changing hands, than on Friday and ended, with the market Index declining just 7.98 points to settle at 2,462.00.
Trading ended with 32 securities changing hands compared to 28 on Friday and ended with the prices of 14 stocks rising, the prices of 12 stocks falling and six remaining unchanged.
At the close, the average PE Ratio of the market ended at 10.1 based on IC Insider.com forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
The market closed with an exchange of 1,154,861 shares for $3,676,960  compared to 1,636,414  units at $5,533,060 on Friday.
Lasco Distributors led trading with just 235,733 shares for 20.4 percent of total volume, followed by AMG Packaging with 195,315 units for 16.9 percent of the day’s trade and Derrimon Trading with 129,950 units for 11.3 percent market share.
Trading ended with an average of 36,089 units at $114,905 in contrast to 58,691 at $197,609 on  Friday. For the month to date, the average trade resulted in an exchange of 73,624 units at $219,345,  in comparison to 83,389 units at $246,517 on Friday. Trading in August resulted in an average of  104,426 units at $321,996 trading.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows four stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and five with lower offers.
At the close of the market, Access Financial rose 12 cents in closing at $21.09, with an exchange of 7,340 stock units, AMG Packaging ended at $1.58, after losing 12 cents trading 195,315  shares, Blue Power gained 19 cents to end at $3.29, with 8,984 stock units passing through the market. CAC 2000 slipped 10 cents to $11.90 trading 1,000 units, Cargo Handlers picked up 6 cents to finish at $6.06, after exchanging 1,500 units, Caribbean Assurance Brokers rose 13 cents to $2.07 in trading 15,249  stock units. Caribbean Cream lost 1 cent to close at $4.74, with 100 shares clearing the market, Caribbean Flavours ended at $17.90, having lost 60 cents and trading 18,780 stock units, Caribbean Producers settled at $2.40, with a rise of 1 cent, with 15,407 units changing hands. Elite Diagnostic slipped 1 cent to $3.05, in transferring 8,500 stocks, Everything Fresh ended 5 cents higher at 70 cents, with investors swapping 230 stock units, Express Catering rose 30 cents to $3.80, with 59,414 shares crossing the market. Fosrich gained 2 cents to $4.02 as investors switched ownership of 84,000 shares, General Accident fell 32 cents to $6.10 trading 25,013 stock units, GWest Corporation gained 27 cents to close at 83 cents, with an exchange of 40 shares. Honey Bun closed at $4.70 after losing 40 cents in transferring 7,000 stock units,  iCreate gained 6 cents clearing the market with 16,200 shares to end at 74 cents, Indies Pharma closed 16 cents higher at $2.79 after trading 3,600 units. Jetcon Corporation gained 1 cent to end at 84 cents, with 43,851 shares passing through the market, Knutsford Express shed 10 cents in ending at $6.80 and trading 2,750 units, Lasco Distributors lost 12 cents to settle at $3, with an exchange of 235,733 shares. Lasco Financial gained 9 cents to end at $2.15, after transferring 9,825 stock units, Limners and Bards gained 14 cents and ended at $2.75, in trading 15,608 units, MailPac Group shed 10 cents to close at $2.04, with an exchange of 118,642 shares. Medical Disposables lost 19 ents, with  16,028 stock units changing hands to end at $4.80 and Stationery and Office Supplies lost 1 cent to close at $5.60, with investors swapping 47,847 stock units.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

Post-election rally for Junior Market

Rising stocks were dominant at the end of trading on Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange one day after Jamaica’s general election was held with the governing party retaining power. At the close on Friday, stocks enjoyed modest gains for the third consecutive day after 61 percent fewer shares traded than on Thursday.
Trading ended with 28 securities changing hands compared to 31 on Thursday and ended with the prices of 12 stocks rising, the prices of eight declining and eight, with remaining unchanged.
At the close, the Junior Market Index rose 12.62 points to settle at 2,469.98, the average PE Ratio of the market ended at 10 based on IC Insider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
The market closed with an exchange of 1,643,360 shares for $5,533,060 compared to 4,265,667  shares for $9,982,025 on Thursday.
Mailpac Group led trading with 865,762 shares for 52.7 percent of total volume, followed by Lasco Financial with 140,446 units for 8.6 percent of the day’s trade and Caribbean Flavours with 118,584 units for 7.2 percent market share.
Trading ended with an average of 58,691 units at $197,609 in contrast to 137,142 units at $322,001 on Thursday. For the month to date, the average trade resulted in an exchange of 83,389 units at  $246,517, in comparison to 90,668 units at $260,932 to Thursday. Trading in August resulted in an average of 104,426 units at $321,996.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the  Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows three stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and three with lower offers.
At the close of the market, Access Financial rose 1 cent to settle at $20.97 with 7 stock units traded, AMG Packaging gained 14 cents to end at $1.70 in an exchange of 100 stock units, Blue Power fell 22 cents to finish at  $3.10 with 4,198 units changing hands. Caribbean Flavours jumped 50 cents to close at $18.50 with investors transferring 118,584 stock units, Caribbean Producers slipped 1 cent to $2.39 with 19,000 stocks traded, Elite Diagnostic added 1 cent to settle at $3.06 with investors switching ownership of 2,930  shares. Everything Fresh declined by 5 cents to end at 65 cents in an exchange of 37,527 stock units, Fontana gained 2 cents in to close at $4.73 with 40,975 stocks changing hands, Fosrich advanced 10 cents to finish at $4 with investors transferring 13,761 stock units. General Accident increased by 2 cents to settle at $6.42 after trading 512 shares, GWest Corporation fell 19 cents to close at a 52 weeks’ low of 56 cents with an exchange of 112,000 stock units, Indies Pharma dropped 21 cents to end at $2.63 with investors switching the ownership of 95,088 stocks. Jetcon Corporation rose 3 cents to finish at 83 cents with 31,162 units changing hands, Lasco Distributors closed 2 cents higher at $3.12  with 11,000 stock units traded, Lasco Financial dropped  9 cents to end at $2.06 with investors transferring 140,446 stocks. Lasco Manufacturing climbed 18 cents to finish at $3.79 in an exchange of 2,176 shares, Mailpac Group gained 14 cents to settle at  $2.14, trading 865,762 units, Medical Disposables added 10 cents in closing at $4.99 with 12,387  stocks changing hands. SSL Venture declined by 11 cents to finish at 75 cents with 8,084 units trading and Stationery and Office Supplies lost 4 cents to end at $5.61 after with 9,986 stock units crossing the exchange.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

Junior Market ekes out small gain

The Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange closed on Thursday, with the market squeezing out a small gain after more stocks rose than decline with a hefty 154 percent more shares trading than Wednesday.
Trading ended with 31 securities changing hands compared to 35 on Wednesday and ended with the prices of 15 stocks rising, the prices of 10 declining and six, with remaining unchanged.
At the close, the Junior Market Index carved out a gain of 3.26 points to close at 2,457.36. The average PE Ratio of the market ended at 10.1 based on IC Insider.com forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
The market closed with an exchange of 4,265,667 shares for $9,982,025 compared to 1,678,856 units at $4,184,920 on Wednesday. MailPac Group led trading with 3.52 million shares for 82.9 percent of total volume, followed by Limners and Bards with 374,097 units for 8.8 percent of the day’s trade and Lasco Distributors with just 51,906 units for 1.2 percent market share.
Trading ended with an average of 137,142 units at $322,001  in contrast to 47,967 at $119,569 on Wednesday. For the month to date, the average trade resulted in an exchange of 90,508 units at $260,932, in comparison to 67,920 units at $231,351 on Wednesday. Trading in August resulted in an average of  104,426 units at $321,996 trading.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows five stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and seven with lower offers.
At the close of the market, Access Financial gained 6 cents to end at $20.96, in exchanging 1,003  shares, Caribbean Assurance Brokers lost 6 cents to close at $1.94, trading 1,000 units, Caribbean Cream rose 55 cents to $4.75, with 4,000 units changing hands. Caribbean Flavours shed 33 cents in transferring 12,648 stock units at $18, Caribbean Producers finished 9 cents higher at $2.40, with  4,750 stock units clearing the market, Dolphin Cove slid 99 cents to a 52 weeks’ low of $5.51, after trading 46,554 shares. Elite Diagnostic ended at $3.05, with a loss of 40 cents, with 400 units changing hands, Express Catering closed 15 cents higher at $3.50, after transferring 2,000 stock units, Fontana slipped 4 cents to $4.71, in exchanging 22,926 stock units. Fosrich picked up 10 cents to end at $3.90, with investors swapping 500 units, General Accident lost 8 cents to end at $6.40 in trading 4,000 units, Honey Bun gained 30 cents, ending at $5.10 as investors swapped 5,006 units. Indies Pharma gained 19 cents and ended at $2.84, with and 14,008 stock units clearing the market, ISP Finance climbed $2 in closing at $15 in transferring 1,000 units, Jamaican Teas rose 63 cents to close at $4.69, after an exchange of 3,000 units. Jetcon Corporation slipped 4 cents to 80 cents trading 9,510 stock units, Knutsford Express finished 10 cents higher at $6.90, with a transfer of 3,649 shares, Lasco Distributors carved out a gain of 10 cents to close at $3.10,  with 51,906 shares crossing the market. Lasco Financial gained 2 cents to settle at $2.15, in trading 51,250 shares, Lasco Manufacturing lost 18 cents to end $3.61 after exchanging  6,000 units, Limners and Bards shed 12 cents in closing at $2.61, while trading 374,097 shares. Lumber Depot gained 6 cents to end at $1.05, with a transfer of 4,511 units, MailPac Group closed at $2, with a gain of 1 cent in trading 3,522,281 shares, Main Event rose 30 cents to end at $3.70, in exchanging 100 units and tTech shed 60 cents to settle at $5.50 with investors swapping 40,849 shares.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.