The Junior Market suffered a second day of decline with the Index falling 25.69 points to settle at 2,476.80, after an exchange of 75 percent fewer shares than on Friday with the value of trading falling by 77 percent after Caribbean Flavours started trading after the ten to one stock split.
Caribbean Flavours a Derrimon’s subsidiary
Trading ended with 33 securities changing hands than 35 on Friday and closed with 10 stocks rising, 15 declining and 8 with prices remaining unchanged. At the close, the average PE Ratio of the market ended at 11.1 based on the IC Insider.com forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
The market closed with an exchange of 2,681,105 shares for $8,677,248 compared to 10,543,614 units at $37,132,664 on Friday. Tropical Battery led trading with 29.6 percent of total volume with 793,822 shares, followed by Elite Diagnostic with 18.7 percent or 500,110 units and MailPac Group at 10 percent market share with 267,482 units.
Trading ended with an average of 81,246 units at $262,947 in contrast to 301,246 units at $1,060,933 on Friday. For the month to date, the average trade resulted in an exchange of 396,297 units at $835,223 compared to 440,727 units at $915,928 on Friday. Trading in September resulted in an average of 119,171 units at $249,355.
The Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows three stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and three with lower offers.
At the close of the market, AMG Packaging added 6 cents to finish at $1.86, with a transfer of 100 units, Blue Power rose 35 cents to $3.55 in trading 17,596 stock units, Caribbean Assurance Brokers lost 4 cents to settle at $1.95, with 750 units passing through the market. Caribbean Flavours gained 42 cents to end at a 52 weeks’ high of $2.38, with investors transferring 90,527 stocks, after the ten to one stock split took effect, Elite Diagnostic lost 5 cents to finish at $3.10, in exchanging 500,110 shares, Express Catering gained 38 cents to close at $3.98 with 6,500 units passing through the market. Fontana ended 5 cents lower at $4.95 in trading 98,829 shares, Fosrich lost 10 cents to finish at $3.44, with a transfer of 1,001 units, GWest Corporation lost 6 cents to settle at 74 cents, with an exchange of 10,052 stock units. Honey Bun gained 1 cent to close at $4.90 with 16,065 stock units changing hands, iCreate slipped 6 cents to 66 cents with 3,000 units passing through the market, Indies Pharma ended at $2.75, after losing 14 cents trading 7,350 units. 
Jamaican Teas gained 1 cent, with an exchange of 194,095 shares to finish at $5, Lasco Distributors closed 5 cents lower at $3.08, with 325 units changing hands, Lasco Financial gained 5 cents to close at $2.10, after a transfer of 16,712 stock units. Lasco Manufacturing slid 14 cents to end at $3.36, in trading 84,408 shares, Limners and Bards lost 2 cents to end at $2.65 after exchanging 204,682 shares, Mailpac lost 1 cent to close at $1.94 with 267,482 stock units changing hands, Main Event rose 49 cents to $3.74, with 2,266 units passing through the market. Medical Disposables gained 5 cents to close at $4.55, in exchanging 5,000 units, SSL Venture Capital lost 10 cents trading 2,382 units to close at 50 cents, Stationery and Office Supplies slid 75 cents to $4.85, with investors switching ownership of 2,000 units. Tropical Battery added 1 cent in trading 793,822 shares to settle at $1.10 and tTech dropped $1.40 to end at $5, with 1,600 units crossing the exchange.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
The markets moved moderately higher to close at their highest levels since mid-August for the. The Main Market closed the past week higher than the previous one, but the Junior Market closed the week lower than the prior one.
With expected gains of 152 to 240 percent, the top three Main Market stocks are Berger Paints, followed by JMMB Group and Carreras. Radio Jamaica is now down to the fifth spot with slightly lower earnings per share of 15 cents from 20 cents previously.
The average projected gain for the Junior Market IC TOP 10 stocks is 279 percent and 145 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.
Trading ended with 35 securities changing hands compared to 33 on Thursday and ended with 13 stocks rising, the prices of 10 declining and 12 with prices remaining unchanged.
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.
iCreate slipped 1 cent to 72 cents with 38,675 units passing through the market, Indies Pharma gained 14 cents to end at $2.89 with 762,551 shares changing hands, Jamaican Teas fell by 26 cents, with an exchange of 2,445,271 shares to finish at $4.99. Knutsford Express increased 38 cents to $6.88 with investors switching ownership of 488,661 stocks, Lasco Distributors advanced 11 cents to settle at $3.13 with 132,100 stocks changing hands, Lasco Manufacturing added 1 cent to end at $3.50 after trading 3,137 shares. Mailpac Group slipped 2 cents to $1.95 with 192,409 units passing through the market, Main Event shed 50 cents to finish at $3.25 with 4,035 units changing hands, Medical Disposables dropped 5 cents to close at $4.50 with an exchange 2,000 units. Tropical Battery gained 1 cent in trading 876,254 shares to settle at $1.09 and tTech jumped 65 cents to end at $6.40 with 865 shares crossing the exchange.
Trading ended with 33 securities changing hands compared to 35 on Wednesday and concluded with the prices of 13 stocks rising, the prices of 13 stocks declining and seven with prices remaining unchanged.
Trading in September resulted in an average of 119,171 units at $249,355.
Honey Bun fell 9 cents to settle at $4.80, trading 11,919 stocks, Indies Pharma advanced 11 cents to finish at $2.75 with 47,373 shares passing through the market, Jamaican Teas gained 5 cents to close at $5.25 with an exchange of 62,682 shares. Jetcon Corporation lost 12 cents to end at 79 cents in trading 144,350 units, KLE Group finished 6 cents higher at $1.42 after trading 698 stocks, Knutsford Express jumped $1 to $6.50 in the transfer of 625 shares. Lasco Distributors declined 10 cents to $3.02 with 45,412 stocks passing through the market, Lasco Financial slipped 5 cents to $2.05 with an exchange of 2,300 stocks, Lasco Manufacturing rose 9 cents to $3.49 with 62,452 shares changing hands. Limners and Bards increased 2 cents to finish at $2.67, in switching the ownership of 46,717, Lumber Depot dipped 1 cent, trading 1,170,743 shares to close at $1.08, Mailpac Group lost 1 cent to settle at $1.97 with 270,145 stocks passing through the market. Main Event jumped 50 cents to end at $3.75 with an exchange of 5,125 stock units, Medical Disposables dropped 5 cents to finish at $4.55 with 7,000 stocks changing hands, SSL Venture gained 4 cents to settle at 60 cents with 82,319 stocks traded. Tropical Battery rose 3 cents after trading 2,656,928 stock units to close at $1.08 and tTech lost 25 cents to end at $5.75 with 14,081 shares crossing the exchange.
Trading ended with 35 securities changing hands compared to 36 on Tuesday and closed with the prices of 10 stocks rising, 14 declining and 11 remaining unchanged.
At the close of the market, Cargo Handlers lost 1 cent to settle at $7.89 and 2,110 shares passing through the market, Caribbean Cream gained 24 cents to settle at $4.72, with a transfer of 10,600 stock units, Caribbean Flavours and Fragrances picked up 3 cents to finish at $18.45 after clearing the market with 235,129 shares. Caribbean Producers shed 20 cents to close at $2.20, after trading 55,820 shares, Consolidated Bakeries slipped 30 cents to $1.19, with 47,620 shares passing through the market, Derrimon Trading lost 4 cents to settle at $2.70, in transferring 13,605 stock units. Dolphin Cove ended 10 cents lower at $6.90, with investors switching ownership of 1,650 units, Elite Diagnostic gained 8 cents in closing at $3.10, after the trading of 2,668 units, Everything Fresh gained 1 cent in closing at 71 cents, with 54,000 shares crossing the market. Fosrich closed at $3.69, after gaining 34 cents with 186,750 shares changing hands, GWest Corporation ended 8 cents higher at 98 cents, in trading 12,011 stock units, Honey Bun lost 1 cent to settle at $4.89, after clearing the market with 8,747 stock units. Indies Pharma shed 21 cents to end at $2.64, exchanging 64,660 shares, Jamaican Teas lost 9 cents in finishing at $5.20, in trading 125,489 shares, Jetcon Corporation gained 12 cents to finish at 91 cents and clearing the market with 101,738 shares. 
Knutsford Express fell by $1 to $5.50 trading 8 units, Lasco Distributors gained 10 cents to close at $3.12, with investors swapping 112,106 shares, Lasco Financial gained 5 cents to end at $2.10, with 923 units crossing the market. Lasco Manufacturing lost 9 cents to close at $3.40, with an exchange of 70,951 shares, Mailpac Group fell 2 cents to $1.98 trading 456,329 shares, Main Event lost 5 cents in closing at $3.25, clearing the market with 19,865 stock units. Medical Disposables closed at $4.60, after losing 10 cents in the transfer of 18,282 stock units, Stationery and Office Supplies rose to $5.60, with gains of 78 cents as investors switched ownership of just 77 units and tTech shed 70 cents to settle at $6 with an exchange of 5,100 stock units.
Trading ended with 36 securities changing hands compared to 32 on Monday and concluded with the prices of 11 stocks rising, the prices of 16 declining and nine with prices remaining unchanged.
Jetcon Corporation dropped 12 cents to end at 79 cents in exchanging 11,660 shares, KLE Group slipped 6 cents to settle at $1.36 with 11,000 stocks passing through the market, Knutsford Express shed 40 cents to finish at $6.50 with investors transferring 7,259 shares. Lasco Distributors lost 11 cents to close at $3.02 with 85,835 shares traded, Lasco Financial fell 5 cents to end at $2.05 with 50,176 stocks changing hands, Lasco Manufacturing slipped 1 cent to $3.49 with 36,554 stocks passing through the market. Limners and Bards lost 10 cents to finish at $2.65 with an exchange of 91,002 stocks, Lumber Depot fell 1 cent trading 155,263 stock units to close at $1.09, Mailpac Group gained 2 cents to end at $2 with 417,939 units passing through the market. Main Event dropped 8 cents to settle at $3.30 with an exchange of 2,950 shares, Medical Disposables lost 4 cents to finish at $4.70 with 1,996 units changing hands and Tropical Battery fell 3 cents to settle at $1.05 with 2,003,876 shares crossing the exchange.
At the close of the market, Access Financial fell $1.88 to $22.12, with 1,000 shares crossing the exchange, AMG Packaging gained 16 cents ending at $1.79, in trading 15,837 stock units, Blue Power shed 50 cents to close at $3.08 after exchanging 1,208 units. Cargo Handlers ended $1.45 lower at $6.35, with investors swapping 400 shares, Caribbean Assurance Brokers lost 14 cents to close at $1.85, after 3,249 stock units crossed the exchange, Caribbean Flavours gained 10 cents to end at $18.50, in exchanging 185,769 shares. Caribbean Producers gained 20 cents to finish at $2.40 trading 28,945 shares, Consolidated Bakeries closed at $1.35, with gains of 23 cents, with 8,414 stock units changing hands, Dolphin Cove finished 10 cents higher at $7, in trading 284 units. Express Catering picked up 3 cents to end at $4.08, after exchanging 3,740 stock units, Fontana lost 2 cents to settle at $5.03 trading 74,649 shares, Fosrich slipped 15 cents to close at $3.75, with 5,054 stock units changing hands. 
General Accident gained 20 cents to close at $6.35, with 1,575 units crossing the market, Honey Bun rose 10 cents to $4.90, after an exchange of 28,625 shares, Indies Pharma lost 22 cents in ending at $2.68, after trading 19,700 stock units. Jamaican Teas lost 14 cents to finish at $4.86, after exchanging 224,378 shares, Lasco Distributors carved out a gain of 2 cents to settle at $3.13, after clearing the market with 1,203 stock units, Lasco Financial picked up 5 cents to finish at $2.10, with 163,405 shares crossing the exchange. Lumber Depot lost 1 cent to settle at $1.10, after clearing the market with 299,442 shares, Mailpac Group fell 2 cents to $1.98, with a transfer of 409,301 shares, Medical Disposables shed 29 cents to close at $4.74, with investors switching ownership of 3,753 stock units and Tropical Battery fell 9 cents to settle at $1.08, in an exchange of 4,460,990 shares.
For a fourth consecutive week, there were no changes in the companies on the IC TOP 10 listings. The markets moved moderately higher to close at their highest levels since mid-August for the junior Market. The Main Market closed at its highest level at the close of September since the beginning of July gave up all the gains on Wednesday and Tuesday to close back at mid-September level on Friday.
This week’s focus: Jamaican Teas came in for increased buying during the past week after the company advised the Jamaica Stock Exchange that the board of directors will meet to determine a new record date for the sub-division of the Company’s shares, following the deferral at the Annual General meeting. The stock traded at $4.30 on September 29 and closed at $4.83 on Wednesday, with 161,040 units changing hands, with the offer at $4.50. The volume ballooned to over one million units on Thursday, with the price hitting $5.55 during the day. The company completed the 2020 fiscal year at the end of September.
The market’s targeted average PE ratio 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, indicating the potential gains ahead. The JSE Main Market ended the week, with an overall PE of 15.1 and the Junior Market 11.2, 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 6.1 at just 54 percent to the overall Junior Market average. 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 283 percent, and 153 percent for the JSE Main Market, based on 2020-21 earnings, indicates potentially greater gains in the Junior Market than in the Main Market.
Trading in September ended, with an average of 119,171 units at $249,355.
Jamaican Teas climbed 9 cents to finish at $5 with 399,447 units traded, Jetcon Corporation slid 4 cents to settle at 91 cents with the switching of ownership of 10,700 stock units, Knutsford Express gained 10 cents to end at $6.90 with an exchange of just three shares. Lasco Manufacturing rose 9 cents to close at $3.50 in trading 761 units, Limners and Bards advanced 10 cents to finish at $2.75 with 44,679 shares changing hands, Lumber Depot increased 4 cents to end at $1.11 with 404,255 stocks passing through the market. Mailpac Group slipped 5 cents in trading 1,708,177 stock units to close at $2, Tropical Battery slipped 1 cent to $1.17 with investors switching ownership of 5,436,363 shares, while Stationery and Office Supplies dropped 77 cents to finish at $4.82 with 1,000 stocks crossing the exchange.
IC bid-offer Indicator| 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 three with lower offers.
GWest Corporation slipped 3 cents to 78 cents with 12,000 stocks passing through the market. Honey Bun declined 2 cents in exchanging 52,114 shares to close at $4.78, Indies Pharma finished 2 cents higher at $2.95 with investors transferring 151,118 shares, Jamaican Teas rose 8 cents and traded 1,099,894 stock units to end at $4.91. Jetcon Corporation advanced 14 cents to 95 cents with 97,400 stocks changing hands, KLE Group climbed 6 cents to $1.42 with 101 stocks passing through the market, Lasco Distributors gained 3 cents to finish at $3.11 with an exchange of 78,600 units. Lasco Financial fell 5 cents to end at $2.05 with investors switching ownership of 103,001 stock units, Lasco Manufacturing lost 1 cent to settle at $3.41 with 3,429 shares traded, Limner and Bards lost 5 cents to close at $2.65 with 34,783 shares changing hands. Lumber Depot slipped 1 cent to end at $1.07 with 112,855 stock units passing through the market, Mailpac Group declined by 4 cents and exchanged 50,482,009 shares to finish at $2.05, Tropical Battery dropped 11 cents to settle at $1.18 with investors transferring 6,620,968 stocks after the price hit a new high of $1.35. Stationery and Office Supplies jumped $1.39 to end at $5.59 with 5,211 units traded and tTech rose 70 cents to close at $6.70 with 15,048 units crossing the exchange.