Trading closed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange Junior Market Wednesday, with the volume of stocks traded slipping moderately, with a 20 percent lower value than was than on Tuesday, leading to an equal number of stocks rising and declining.
A total of 41 securities trading compared to 43 on Tuesday, with 18 rising, 18 declining and five closing unchanged.
At the close, the Junior Market Index popped 9.99 points to end at 4,462.21.
The PE Ratio, a measure of computing appropriate stock values, averages 14.7. The Junior Market PE ratios incorporate ICInsider.com projected earnings for companies with financial years closing up to the end of August 2023.
Overall, 12,678,453 shares traded for $58,144,463 compared to 13,201,837 units at $72,767,087 on the Tuesday. Future Energy Source led trading with 2.35 million shares for 18.5 percent of total volume followed by Jamaican Teas with 1.85 million units for 14.6 percent of the day’s trade, iCreate ended with 1.70 million units for 13.4 percent market share and EduFocal, 1.15 million units for 9.1 percent market share.
Trading averaged 309,231 shares at $1,418,158 compared to 307,019 shares at $1,692,258 on Tuesday with the month to date, averaging 454,840 units at $2,514,738 compared to 524,258 units at $3,037,526, previously traded. April closed with an average of 449,923 units at $1,781,786.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows four stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with a lower offer.
At the close, Access Financial lost 50 cents to close at $21 in trading 1,356 shares, Derrimon Trading advanced 12 cents after ending at a 52 weeks’ high of $3.05 in exchanging 747,293 stock units, Dolphin Cove declined $1.40 to $20, with 160,113 units crossing the market. EduFocal rallied 21 cents to end at $3.29 with an exchange of 1,152,223 stocks, Elite Diagnostic rallied 10 cents in closing at $4 with the swapping of 17,586 shares, Fontana gained 50 cents to close at $11 in switching ownership of 146,566 units. Fosrich shed $2.05 to end at $32.92 after exchanging 101,170 stock units, Future Energy Source increased 22 cents to $7 trading 2,351,607 stocks, General Accident fell 26 cents in closing at $6.14 after an exchange of 8,286 units. iCreate climbed 95 cents to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $4.19, with 1,696,163 stocks crossing the exchange, Jamaican Teas dropped 27 cents to $3.53 in an exchange of 1,850,548 stock units, Knutsford Express shed 10 cents in closing at $7.80, with 107,922 shares crossing the market. 
Lasco Distributors dropped 18 cents to end at $3.30, with 1,551 stock units changing hands, Lasco Financial rose 10 cents to $3.40 after exchanging 92,884 shares, Lasco Manufacturing advanced 25 cents to close at $5.35 with 11,010 stocks clearing the market. Main Event climbed 98 cents to $9.98 while exchanging 28,655 units, Medical Disposables popped $1 to end at $7, trading 212,382 stock units and tTech declined 17 cents to $3.78 after exchanging 34,471 units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
The Junior Market Index dropped 33.11 points to 4,452.22 after reaching a record intraday high of 4,543.70 within an hour of opening.
At the close, Blue Power advanced 26 cents in closing at $3.85, with 6,369 shares clearing the market, CAC 2000 increased 65 cents to close at $6.75 after exchanging 65 stock units, Dolphin Cove fell 60 cents to $21.40 in trading 48,298 units. Elite Diagnostic climbed 30 cents in ending at $3.90 after trading 1,902,202 stocks, Fontana fell 75 cents to end at $10.50 with 127,121 stocks changing hands, Fosrich rose $1.37 in closing at a 52 weeks’ high of $34.97 after an exchange of 575,546 units. Future Energy Source gained 28 cents to end at $6.78, with 2,333,516 shares changing hands, Honey Bun lost 20 cents to close at $9.27 in switching ownership of 15,379 stock units, iCreate shed 24 cents after ending at $3.24 trading 319,360 stock units. Iron Rock Insurance dropped 30 cents to $3.30 in exchanging 140 stocks, ISP Finance fell $7.49 to close at $22 with the swapping of 941 units, KLE Group lost 65 cents to end at $1.95 after trading 5,054 shares. Knutsford Express declined 10 cents to $7.90 in an exchange of 59,645 shares, Lasco Manufacturing shed 48 cents in ending at $5.10, with 57,949 stock units crossing the market, Mailpac Group rallied 13 cents in closing at $3.17 with an exchange of 137,725 units.
Main Event dropped 87 cents in closing at $9 while exchanging 61,254 stocks, Medical Disposables declined 79 cents to close at $6 after 574,571 shares crossed the exchange, Spur Tree Spices fell 27 cents to end at $3.80 in exchanging 2,417,836 stocks. Stationery and Office Supplies lost $1.25 to close at $8.25, with 16,626 stock units changing hands and tTech popped 16 cents ending at $3.95 in trading 34,234 units.
Market activity led to 43 securities trading compared to 44 on Friday and ended with 14 rising, 21 declining and eight closing unchanged.
Trading averaged 741,497 shares at $4,382,795, up from 240,793 shares at $1,067,444 on Friday with month to date. April closed with an average of 449,923 units at $1,781,786.
Lasco Manufacturing rallied 33 cents to end at $5.58 after exchanging 20,611 units, Spur Tree Spices fell 18 cents in closing at $4.07 after an exchange of 1,206,504 stocks and Stationery and Office Supplies gained 20 cents to end at $9.50, with 14,980 stock units crossing the market.
The Main Market that ICInsider.com forecast to deliver a 14 percent rise for the year struggles to break from consolidation so far, with a rise of just 4.8 for the four months to April and is consistent with a 14 percent increase for the year. It is quite likely that the market PE could climb closer to a PE of 18, which will push the annual gains to around 30 percent if the financial stocks show good increases in profit for the year. That is a very likely situation as the hike in interest rates is driving net interest income sharply upwards.
In addition to the Top15 selection for each market at the start of the year, we added a few stocks. There were nine winning stocks with good gains. The list includes AMG Packaging 73 percent, Dolphin Cove 47 percent, Elite up 26 percent, Everything Fresh 83 percent, iCreate 263 percent, Jetcon 75 percent, Spur Tree Spices 215 percent, Stationery and Office Supplies 46 percent and Tropical Batteries up 124 percent for the year to date and up 64 percent since ICInsider.com added it was added to the TOP10 on February 25. Caribbean Cream, down 7 percent, is the only Junior Market stock selection to fall.
The big TOP15 winners for the Main Market are Caribbean Producers, up 42 percent, Jamaica Stock Exchange at 22 percent, JMMB Group at 16 percent and Proven at 14 percent. Berger Paints, down 7 percent, Jamaica Broilers, with a fall of 3 percent and Scotia Group, down one percent, are the only losers in this segment.
ICTOP10 focuses on likely yearly winners, accordingly, the list may or may not include the best companies in the market. ICInsider.com ranks stocks based on projected earnings to highlight winners from the rest, allowing investors to focus on potential winning stocks and helping to remove emotional attachments to stocks that often result in costly mistakes.
Trading ended on Friday with an exchange of 44 securities down from 45 on Thursday and finished with 20 rising, 18 declining and six were unchanged.
At the close, Access Financial rose 83 cents to $21.03, with 4,393 shares clearing the market, AMG Packaging popped 24 cents to $3.80, trading 52,828 units, CAC 2000 rallied 40 cents to end at $7 after exchanging 6,371 stocks. Cargo Handlers advanced $2.09 to close at $12.25 after 11,280 stock units changed hands, Dolphin Cove dropped 48 cents to $22 in trading 14,442 stocks, Express Catering climbed 16 cents to close at $6.16, with 18,272 units crossing the market. Fontana gained 34 cents in closing at $11.29 with the swapping of 352,809 stock units, General Accident increased 41 cents to end at $6.40 while exchanging 12,585 shares, Indies Pharma declined 14 cents to $3.15, with 110,478 stock units changing hands. Jetcon Corporation shed 12 cents in ending at $1.63, with 339,723 shares crossing the market, Lasco Manufacturing fell 45 cents to close at $5.25 after switching ownership of 2,001,922 stocks, Medical Disposables rallied 39 cents in closing at $6.89 with 15,015 units changing hands. 
Paramount Trading climbed 28 cents to end at $2.04 with an exchange of 151,045 shares, Spur Tree Spices lost 20 cents after finishing at $4.25 in exchanging 941,724 stock units, SSL Venture rose 15 cents to $1.75 after trading 50,512 units. Stationery and Office Supplies declined 35 cents to end at $9.30 in an exchange of 89,056 stocks, Tropical Battery shed 14 cents in ending at $2.85, with 647,853 stocks crossing the exchange and tTech fell 33 cents to close at $3.76 after exchanging 103,068 stock units.
Trading averaged 1,030,475 shares at $5,073,340, up from 369,428 units costing $1,397,363 on Wednesday, with the month to date, averaging 461,796 units at $1,822,342 versus 426,741 units at $1,621,938 on the previous trading day. Trading in March averaged 719,276 units at $2,636,802.
Lasco Manufacturing popped 60 cents ending at $5.70 with an exchange of 40,838 units, Medical Disposables lost 50 cents to close at $6.50 after 135,187 stocks changed hands, Paramount Trading shed 22 cents to end at $1.76 while exchanging 552,705 shares. Spur Tree Spices climbed 23 cents to close at a record high of $4.45 after an exchange of 679,715 stock units, SSL Venture dropped 15 cents in ending at $1.60, with 109,215 stocks crossing the market, Stationery and Office Supplies advanced 65 cents to end at $9.65 after 29,964 units crossed the exchange and tTech rallied 19 cents in closing at $4.09 with 10,000 shares traded.
At the close, Access Financial rallied $1.12 to close at $21.50 while exchanging 24,946 shares
Medical Disposables climbed 95 cents to close at $7 after exchanging 1,128,190 units, Spur Tree Spices increased 31 cents in ending at a 52 weeks’ high of $4.22 after 1,754,659 stocks changed hands, SSL Venture popped 17 cents in closing at $1.75, with 175,106 shares clearing the market, Stationery and Office Supplies popped 75 cents to end at $9 trading 15,960 units and tTech rose 11 cents to $3.90 after 11,782 stock units passed through the exchange.
Some 42 securities traded against 43 on Monday, with 18 rising, 17 declining and seven unchanged.
At the close, Access Financial declined 69 cents in closing at $20.38 in switching ownership of 3,206 shares, CAC 2000 gained 20 cents to close at $7.40 in trading 65 units, Caribbean Assurance Brokers shed 34 cents, to end at $2.56, with the swapping of 37,066 stock units. Consolidated Bakeries rallied 10 cents to $1.30 in an exchange of 513,167 stocks, Dolphin Cove dropped 40 cents to $23 after exchanging 5,524 stocks, EduFocal lost 17 cents to end at $3.22 with an exchange of 859,952 stock units. Express Catering increased 32 cents in ending at $6.49 while exchanging 11,127 units, Fontana fell 29 cents in closing at $11 after finishing trading 207,790 shares, Fosrich rose 35 cents to $28.35 after trading 151,846 stock units. Honey Bun climbed 27 cents to close at $9.30, with 21,470 shares clearing the market, iCreate dropped 73 cents to $2.33, with 1,442,863 stocks crossing the market, Indies Pharma popped 14 cents to end at $3.29, with 55,131 units crossing the market. Jetcon Corporation advanced 30 cents to close at $1.80 after 823,775 shares crossed the exchange, Lasco Manufacturing climbed 10 cents in closing at $5.10 after trading 26,510 stocks, Lumber Depot advanced 11 cents to $3.56 in exchanging 1,124,459 units. 
Main Event increased 58 cents to close at $9.58, with an exchange of 98,341 stock units, Spur Tree Spices popped 21 cents to $3.91, with 1,339,807 shares changing hands, SSL Venture lost 10 cents in closing at $1.58, with 21,001 stock units clearing the market. Stationery and Office Supplies declined 85 cents ending at $8.25, trading 27,093 units, Tropical Battery rose 11 cents to end at $2.85, with 2,822,833 stocks crossing the market and tTech fell 26 cents and ended at $3.79 after an exchange of 1,556 shares.
A total of 43 securities traded versus 44 on Friday and ended with 18 rising, 17 declining and eight closing unchanged. The Junior Market Index shed 21.68 points to settle at 4,348.26 at the close.
At the close, AMG Packaging increased 30 cents to $3.80 with an exchange of 68,423 shares, Blue Power lost 50 cents to end at $3.50, with 300 stocks changing hands, CAC 2000 fell 20 cents to end at $7.20 in trading 3,548 units. Cargo Handlers advanced $1.05 to close at $12, with 35,218 stock units clearing the market, Caribbean Cream gained 19 cents in closing at $5.19 after exchanging 61,480 units, Dolphin Cove popped $1.40 to $23.40 with the swapping of 95,344 stocks. Everything Fresh rose 16 cents to end at $1.46 in exchanging 8,452 stock units, Fontana climbed 29 cents to $11.29 after trading 137,061 shares, Fosrich shed 13 cents to close at $28 and closed with the trading of 397,141 stocks after the price hit an intraday record high of $29.25. General Accident dropped 19 cents in closing at $5.98, with 11,000 shares crossing the market, Honey Bun declined 94 cents to $9.03, after 34,453 stock units crossed the market, Indies Pharma shed 10 cents to end at $3.15 while exchanging 400,386 units. 
Jamaican Teas lost 23 cents to close at $3.56 after finishing trading of 572,462 stock units, Jetcon Corporation rallied 10 cents in closing at $1.50 in switching ownership of 857,533 stocks, Lasco Financial advanced 12 cents to $3.40 after exchanging 62,597 units. Lasco Manufacturing fell 33 cents in closing at $5 in an exchange of 26,238 shares, Lumber Depot declined 13 cents to close at $3.45 with 279,132 shares changing hands and Main Event gained 82 cents to $9 in exchanging 37,940 stock units.
The Junior Market ended with three stocks rising from 8 to 15 percent. Caribbean Assurance Brokers climbed 10 percent for the week while Jetcon Corporation rose 8 percent to close at $1.40. Declining were Lasco Financial, down 8 percent and Access Financial and AMG Packaging, down 5 percent, as buying eased markedly following improved results released at the close of the market ahead of the Easter weekend. Investors seem not to be factoring in cost savings and increased efficiency that the newly installed machine brings to the business following the close of the recent quarter. With a 5 percent rise, Guardian Holdings was the biggest mover in the Main Market.
ICTOP10 focuses on likely yearly winners; accordingly, the list may or may not include the best companies in the market. ICInsider.com ranks stocks based on projected earnings to highlight winners from the rest, allowing investors to focus on potential winning stocks and helping to remove emotional attachments to stocks that often result in costly mistakes.