The Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange closed on Monday with the market rising after more stocks rose than declined with 67 percent fewer shares trading than on Friday.
Trading ended with 35 securities changing hands compared to 32 on Friday and closed with 14 stocks rising, 10 declining and 11 remaining unchanged.
At the close, the Junior Market Index rose 7.63 points to settle at 2,539.98. The average PE Ratio ends at 12.6 based on ICInsider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
The market closed with an exchange of 4,145,851 shares for 14,021,504 compared to 12,631,994 units at $33,900,773 on Friday. Lasco Manufacturing led trading with 37.8 percent of total volume and accounting for 1.57 million shares, followed by Fontana with 14.1 percent for 586,470 units and Mailpac Group with 10.9 percent for 452,407 shares.
Trading ended with an average of 118,453 units at $400,614, in contrast to 394,750 at $1,059,399 on Friday. For the month to date, the average trade resulted in an exchange of 226,798 units at $642,434, compared to 238,314 units at $668,207 on Friday. October ended with an average of 230,868 units at $535,509 trading.
At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows six stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and none with lower offers.
At the close of the market, Access Financial gained 91 cents in closing at $20.02, with an exchange of 1,910 shares, AMG Packaging lost 9 cents in ending at $1.54, with 152 units clearing the market, CAC 2000 gained 50 cents to settle at $9, with investors swapping 1,000 units. Cargo Handlers advanced $1.25 to $7.60 in crossing the exchange with seven units, Caribbean Assurance Brokers lost 3 cents to close at $1.82 trading 18 stock units, Caribbean Cream rose 6 cents to $4.13 with the swapping of 500 shares. Caribbean Flavours rose 2 cents to $1.77, with 236,001 stocks changing hands, Caribbean Producers picked up 1 cent to end at $2.35, in trading 1,474 units, Derrimon Trading lost 20 cents exchanging 6,205 stock units at $2.50. Express Catering declined 23 cents to $3.51 while trading 6,570 units, Fontana gained 46 cents to finish at $5.26, after an exchange of 578,470 shares, General Accident lost 25 cents with 118,066 shares passing through the market to end at $6.20. GWest Corporation shed 19 cents to end at 70 cents, with 78,077 stock units changing hands, Honey Bun gained 1 cent to close at $4.81, in trading 18,840 shares, iCreate dipped 5 cents to 65 cents, with an exchange of 13,213 stock units. Lasco Distributors closed at $3.09, after gaining 8 cents in crossing the market with 57,600 shares, Lasco Financial lost 12 cents to end at $2.60 trading 5,000 units, Lasco Manufacturing added 8 cents to end at $4.05, with 1,565,343 shares passing through the market.
Limners and Bards gained 3 cents to end at $2.45, trading 13,936 units, Mailpac Group lost 5 cents to close at $2.19, trading 452,407 shares, Medical Disposables rose 26 cents to $4.27, with 3,200 units changing hands. Paramount Trading gained 1 cent to end at $1.49, after trading 17,089 stock units, Stationery and Office Supplies lost 25 cents to settle at $4.30, in exchanging 29,000 stock units and Tropical Battery picked up 1 cent to end at $1.21, with 288,661 shares crossing the exchange.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
The move in the Main Market continues the move gradually higher ahead of the year-end and is in keeping with bullish signs that points to more gains ahead.
The company is on target to earn 50 cents per share for the current financial year ending June 2021.
The PE ratio for the Junior Market Top 10 stocks average a mere 7.1 at just 54 percent to the Junior Market average. The Main Market TOP 10 stocks trade at a PE of 8.7 or 55 percent of the PE of that market.
Trading ended with an exchange of 32 securities compared to 30 on Thursday, with prices of 14 rising, 12 declining and six closing unchanged.
At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows five stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and four with lower offers.
Fosrich rose 2 cents to close at $3.70 with 67,870 stock units passing through the market, General Accident fell 5 cents to end at $6.45 in exchanging 42,379 stocks, Honey Bun lost 5 cents to finish at $4.80 with investors swapping 88,589 shares. Jamaican Teas shed 40 cents to settle at $5.50 with 128,722 stocks traded, Knutsford Express dipped 10 cents to $6.60 with 1,699 units changing hands, Lasco Financial rose 2 cents to end at $2.72 with 93,502 units passing through the market. Lasco Manufacturing climbed 12 cents to $3.97 with a transfer of 250 shares, Limners and Bards gained 2 cents to end at $2.42 with 57,677 stocks changing hands, Lumber Depot slipped 6 cents in an exchange of 177,201 units at $1.20. Mailpac Group traded 1,681,152 units and rose 4 cents to $2.24, Medical Disposables dropped 29 cents to settle at $4.01 with 123 shares passing through the market, Paramount Trading carved out a lost 2 cents to close at $1.48 with investors switching 10,900 stock units and tTech shed 30 cents to end at $5.45 with 7,315 stock units crossing the exchange.
Trading ended with 30 securities changing hands compared to 36 on Wednesday and ended with prices of 11 stocks rising, 13 declining and six with prices remaining unchanged.
At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows nine stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and two with lower offers.
Lasco Financial increased by 5 cents to close at $2.70 with 62,295 shares changing hands, Lasco Manufacturing traded 808,966 units and shed 15 cents to finish at $3.85, Limners and Bards fell 15 cents to end at $2.40 with 153,442 stock units traded. Lumber Depot settled 1 cent higher at $1.26 with a transfer of 164,077 units, Mailpac Group fell 1 cent to $2.20 after 849,384 shares passed through the market, Main Event dipped 1 cent to finish at $2.99 with 3,750 shares changing hands. Paramount Trading dropped 8 cents to end at $1.50 with investors switching ownership of 1,500 stock units, Tropical Battery declined 4 cents to $1.20 with 252,423 stock units traded and Ttech jumped 75 cents to close at $5.75 with 1,732 stocks crossing the exchange.
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 one with lower offers.
Honey Bun lost 1 cent in ending at $4.84, with 2,230 units changing hands, iCreate shed 2 cents to settle at 65 cents after 113,097 shares crossed the exchange, Iron Rock Insurance rose 1 cent to close at $3.21, with 10,501 stock units changing hands. Jamaican Teas gained 36 cents to close at $5.95, in crossing the market with 318,824 shares, Jetcon Corporation closed 7 cents higher at 85 cents, with 1,500 units crossing the exchange, Knutsford Express gained 20 cents in closing at $6.70, trading 8,731 units. Lasco Distributors lost 13 cents to finish at $3.01, with investors swapping 62,362 shares, Lasco Manufacturing rose 10 cents to $4 after exchanging 22,072,049 shares, Limners and Bards gained 2 cents to close at $2.55, with an exchange of 11,626 stock units. Lumber Depot lost 2 cents to settle at $1.25 after 316,007 shares crossed the market, Mailpac Group gained 7 cents to end at $2.21, with an exchange of 771,442 shares, Main Event rose 1 cent to $3 in trading 228,412 shares. Medical Disposables shed 37 cents to end at $4.30, transferring 2,000 units, Paramount Trading gained 7 cents in closing at $1.58, with an exchange of 52,014 shares and Stationery and Office Supplies picked up 5 cents to settle at $4.55, with 36,430 stock units changing hands.
At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows five stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and two with lower offers.
Knutsford Express dropped 19 cents to settle at $6.50 with 15,363 shares passing through the market, Lasco Financial declined by 8 cents to finish at $2.65 with 4,955 units changing hands, Lasco Manufacturing fell 8 cents to end at $3.90 with 80,403 shares traded. Limners and Bards rose 3 cents to close at $2.53 with 20,067 stock units changing hands, Lumber Depot slipped 2 cents to $1.27 with 45,351 units passing through the market, Mailpac Group exchanged 9,384,664 shares and advanced 14 cents to settle at $2.14. Medical Disposables climbed 39 cents to finish at $4.67 with a transfer of 7,738 stocks, Stationery and Office Supplies lost 4 cents to end at $4.50 trading 2,522 stocks and Tropical Battery slipped 1 cent to close at $1.24 with 285,848 stock units crossing the exchange.
Trading ended with 35 securities changing hands, the same as on Friday and closed with the prices of 13 rising, 15 declining and seven remained unchanged.
At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows two stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and six with lower offers.
Iron Rock Insurance gained 20 cents to close at $3.20 trading 20,000 units, ISP Finance declined by $1.45 to $21, after exchanging 50 stocks, Jamaican Teas fell 18 cents to $5.22, with the trading of 305,152 shares. Jetcon Corporation added 10 cents to end at 85 cents after trading 201 units, Lasco Distributors lost 1 cent to close at $3.14 with the trading of 112,895 shares, Lasco Financial rose 13 cents to $2.73, with an exchange of 224,994 stock units. Lasco Manufacturing closed 23 cents higher to $3.98 in trading 145,776 shares, Lumber Depot gained 2 cents to close at $1.29 after exchanging 485,198 stock units, Medical Disposables advanced 3 cents to $4.28 after trading 20,000 shares. Paramount Trading shed 9 cents to end at $1.51, in exchanging 1,500 units, Stationery and Office Supplies lost 1 cent in closing at $4.54, with 34,000 shares changing hands, Tropical Battery gained 4 cents to close at $1.25, in exchanging 749,717 shares and tTech dropped $1.70 to $5 trading 16,032 stock units.
This week’s focus: Grace Kennedy continues to enjoy a phenomenal year, with profit attributed to the company’s shareholders, rising 33 percent to $1.68 billion in the September quarter, from $1.26 billion for the third quarter in the previous year and grew 35 percent for the nine months to September, to just $4.4 billion from $3.27 billion the corresponding period in 2019. Taxation more than doubled in both periods, but profit before tax grew 49 percent in the third quarter to $2.79 billion and for the nine-months, it rose 51.5 percent to $7.3 billion. Earnings per share are $1.69 for the quarter and $4.47 for the nine months and should exceed $6 for the full year.
With expected gains of 150 to 238 percent, the top three Main Market stocks are now, Berger Paints followed by JMMB Group and Grace Kennedy in the third position.
The average projected gain for the Junior Market IC TOP 10 stocks is 247 percent, and 147 percent for the JSE Main Market, based on 2020-21 earnings, indicating potentially greater gains in the Junior Market than the Main Market.
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 five with lower offers.
GWest Corporation lost 1 cent to settle at 88 cents with 100 shares traded, Indies Pharma gained 10 cents to close at $2.60 in the transfer of 16,575 stocks, Iron Rock Insurance dropped 20 cents to end at $3 with 17,544 stock units changing hands. Jetcon Corporation dipped 5 cents to finish at 75 cents after exchanging 74,587 stocks, Knutsford Express fell 11 cents to $6.69 with 329 shares passing through the market, Lasco Distributors increased 1 cent to close at $3.15 trading of 67,623 stock units. Lasco Financial lost 10 cents to end at $2.60 with 344,300 stock units changing hands, Lasco Manufacturing rose 5 cents to finish at $3.75 with a transfer of 17,883 shares, Limners and Bards dipped 1 cent and exchanged 369,298 stocks to settle at $2.50. Lumber Depot slipped 3 cents to close at $1.27 with 142,641 stock units passing through the market, Mailpac Group gained 1 cent, trading 690,324 shares to end at $2, Main Event fell 1 cent to finish at $2.99 with 1,000 stocks changing hands. Paramount Trading shed 30 cents to settle at $1.60 with investors transferring 97,894 stocks, Tropical Battery lost 3 cents to close at $1.21 with 601,792 shares traded and tTech jumped $2.60 to end at $6.70 with 40 units crossing the exchange.
The number of securities trading remained the same as on Wednesday with 34 stocks changing hands and ended with the prices of 10 stocks rising, the prices of 17 declining and seven with prices remaining unchanged.
At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows four stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and five with lower offers.
ISP Finance dipped 5 cents to close at $22.45 trading 97 units, Jamaican Teas gained 17 cents to finish at $5.40 with 41,049 stocks changing hands, Lasco Distributors slipped 1 cent to $3.14 with the trading of 13,879 stocks. Lasco Financial increased 10 cents to end at $2.70 with a transfer of 147,160 units, Lasco Manufacturing rose 1 cent to $3.70 with 14,280 shares passing through the market, Limners and Bards lost 4 cents to close at $2.51 with 21,043 shares changing hands. Lumber Depot fell 11 cents to $1.30 and exchanged 605,780 shares, Mailpac Group lost 1 cent to end at $1.99 with 247,920 stock units traded, Medical Disposables dropped 40 cents to settle at $4.25 with investors switching ownership of 18,824 shares. SSL Venture Capital declined 12 cents to close at 55 cents with 183,012 units passing through the market, Tropical Battery rose 2 cents to finish at $1.24 with 123,750 shares changing hands and tTech shed $1.40 to close at $4.10 with 9,500 stock units crossing the exchange.