The Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange ended trading on Thursday, with the market declining after more stocks fell than rose, with investors trading 51 percent fewer shares than on Wednesday.
Trading ended with 32 securities changing hands compared to 33 on Wednesday and ended with the prices of nine stocks rising, 17 declining and six with prices remaining unchanged.
At the close, the Junior Market Index carved out a loss of a mere 0.66 points to settle at 2,564.27, and the average PE Ratio of the Junior Market ended at 10.7 based on IC Insider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
The market closed with an exchange of 1,607,258 shares for $3,954,220 compared to 2,711,361 units at $8,041,179 on Wednesday.
Mailpac Group led trading with 479,529 shares for 30 percent of total volume, followed by Everything Fresh with 300,722 units for 18.7 percent of the day’s trade and Limners and Bards with 218,192 units for 13.6 percent market share.
An average of 50,227 units traded at $123,569 on Thursday, in contrast to an average of 82,162 at $243,633 on Wednesday. For the month to date, the average trade was 257,292 units at $701,029, in contrast to 267,316 units at $728,985. Trading in June resulted in an average of 245,049 units at $689,955 trading.
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 lower offers.
At the close of the market, Cargo Handlers lost 70 cents to settle at $6.40 after exchanging 8,016 units, Caribbean Assurance Brokers climbed 9 cents to end at $2.24 in an exchange of 3,500 stocks, Caribbean Cream increased 27 cents to $3.85, with 23,045 shares changing hands. Caribbean Flavours declined by $1.57 to close at $10.50 in exchanging 112 units, Dolphin Cove fell 9 cents after closing at $7.50 while trading 1,000 shares, Elite Diagnostic carved out a gain of 10 cents to close at $3.70 while exchanging one share. Everything Fresh climbed 12 cents in closing at 79 cents and finished trading with 300,722 units, Express Catering carved out a loss 2 cents after ending at $4.07 in an exchange of 3,330 shares, Fontana lost 5 cents to close at $5 in trading 83,879 stock units. General Accident fell 10 cents to end at $7.05 while exchanging 11,041 stock units, Honey Bun slipped 1 cent to settle at $5.39 in trading 500 units, iCreate increased 2 cents to 56 cents trading 10,000 stocks. Indies Pharma fell 5 cents to end at $2.95 in exchanging 5,000 shares, Jamaican Teas declined by 4 cents to end at $4.95, with 7,915 units clearing the market, Jetcon Corporation dropped 1 cent to end at 91 cents in exchanging 16,120 shares. Lasco Distributors advanced 19 cents to close at $3.25 with investors switching ownership of 42,001 shares, 
Lasco Financial declined by 13 cents and ending at $2.41, with 131,441 units changing hands, Lasco Manufacturing shed 12 cents to end at $3.50 121,608 stock units crossing the exchange. Limners and Bards slipped 10 cents to end at $2.51 in an exchange of 218,192 stock units, Lumber Depot advanced by 1 cent in closing at $1.06 while exchanging 6,194 stock units, Mailpac Group lost 4 cents closing at $2.10 with investors switching ownership of 479,529 stocks. Main Event gained 1 cent to closed at $4 in an exchange of 230 shares, Medical Disposables dipped 1 cent to close at $4.99, with 8,575 units changing hands, Paramount Trading shed 3 cents in closing at $1.77 and cleared the market with 1,000 shares. Stationery and Office Supplies dropped by 8 cents in closing at $5.90, with investors switching ownership of 3,500 shares and tTech rose 17 cents ending at $7.30 clearing the market with 25,124 units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
In comparison, June ended, with an average of 245,049 units trading at $689,955.
Express Catering carved out a gain of 9 cents to close at $4.09, with 7,900 stock units crossing the exchange, Fontana gained 5 cents in closing at $5.05 with an exchange of 33,420 units, General Accident rose 20 cents to close at $7.15 after exchanging 116,000 stock units. GWest Corporation gained 2 cents to settle at 89 cents, with 2,098 shares changing hands, iCreate shed 2 cents to end at 54 cents in trading 45,143 units and Iron Rock Insurance shed 9 cents to end at $3.80 with investors swapping 3,100 stock units.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading was flashing negative signal, with only two stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and seven with lower offers.
Jamaican Teas fell 1 cent to $4.99 trading 119,441 stock units, Jetcon Corporation gained 10 cents to close at $1.02 with an exchange of 6,800 units, Lasco Distributors advanced 15 cents to settle at $3, trading 429,766 stock units. Lasco Financial fell 14 cents to close at $2.41 with 20,750 units traded, Lasco Manufacturing declined by 10 cents to close at $3.55 with an exchange of 92,236 stock units, Lumber Depot declined by 5 cents to end at 99 cents after investors transferred 191,852 stock units. Mailpac Group increased 12 cents to close at $2.12, with 314,557 units passing through the market, Main Event slipped 1 cent to settle at $3.99 in exchanging 96,123 shares, Medical Disposables dropped 90 cents to close at $5 with 239,464 stock units changing hands and Stationery and Office Supplies fell 38 cents to end at $5.60 with 56,101 units crossing the exchange.
,517 units for 12.8 percent of the day’s trade and iCreate with 345,873 units for 6.2 percent market share.
GWest Corporation lost 1 cent to close at 88 cents trading 200 shares, Honey Bun advanced by 10 cents to settle at $5.40, with 23,860 stock units changing hands, Indies Pharma declined 10 cents to $2.90 in an exchange of 35,676 units. ISP Finance dropped by 5 cents after closing at $15.80 and trading 100 shares, Jamaican Teas added 1 cent to close at $5 with investors switching ownership of 37,131 shares, Jetcon Corporation fell 2 cents to settle at 92 cents to finish with 65,662 stock units changing hands. Lasco Financial increased 5 cents to settle at $2.55 with 1,550 stock units crossing the exchange, Lasco Manufacturing climbed 9 cents to $3.65 in trading 200,000 units, Limners and Bards dropped 5 cents to end at $2.60, with 716,517 shares changing hands. Lumber Depot lost 1 cent to close at $1.04 trading 224,046 shares, Mailpac Group fell 14 cents to settle at $2 in trading 2,842,033 stock units, Medical Disposables increased 70 cents in closing at $5.90 with 13,488 shares clearing the market. Stationery and Office Supplies gained 8 cents and ending at $5.98 in trading 481 units and tTech carved out a gain of 67 cents to settle at $6.67 in trading 213,193 shares.
There was no change in the Main Market TOP 10 list for the week that saw the Main Market stocks lopping 6,300 points off the market index while the Junior Market rose 26 points.
Profit from continuing operations grew at a slower pace at 38 percent for the second quarter and 41 percent for the half-year. Revenues increased 18 percent to $9.5 billion for the June quarter and 12 percent to $18.6 billion for the six months. The company shuttered its loss-making sugar operations last year and that is helping with the improvement in results.
IC Insider.com is projecting $4 per share earnings for the current year and it now trades at a PE ratio of 14, with limited upside potential in the short term.
The average projected gain for the IC TOP 10 stocks is 269 percent, for the Junior Market and 146 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.
At the close, the Junior Market Index lost 26.95 points to 2,555.47, and the average PE Ratio of the Junior Market ended at 10.8 based on IC Insider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings. Trading ended with 32 securities changing hands compared to 29 and ended with the prices of eight stocks rising, the prices of 17 declining and seven with prices remaining unchanged.
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 none with lower offers.
Jamaican Teas carved out a loss 6 cents in closing at $4.99, with 9,861 units changing hands, Jetcon Corporation shed 8 cents to end at 94 cents and cleared the market with 500 units, Lasco Financial lost 5 cents closing at $2.50 and crossing the exchange with 53,577 units. Lasco Manufacturing declined by 9 cents to settle at $3.56, with investors switching ownership of 79,722 stock units, Limners and Bards dropped by 4 cents to close at $2.65 in an exchange of 12,702 shares, Lumber Depot gained 1 cent in ending at $1.05 with 36,832 units crossing the market. Mailpac Group rose 6 cents to close at $2.14, trading 320,693 units, SSL Venture increased 9 cents in closing at 87 cents with investors switching ownership of just one stock unit. Stationery and Office Supplies shed 2 cents to settle at $5.90 after exchanging 2,800 shares and tTech shed 50 cents to end at $6 500, with stock units changing hands.
Trading ended with 29 securities changing hands compared to 32 on Wednesday and ended with the prices of 12 stocks rising, 10 stocks falling in value and seven with prices remaining unchanged.
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 five with lower offers.
iCreate lost 2 cents in ending at 52 cents after exchanging 34,950 stock units. Indies Pharma rose 10 cents to close at $3 in an exchange of 694,697 units, Jamaican Teas shed 1 cent to end at $5.05 exchanging 962 units, Jetcon Corporation carved out a gain of 1 cent to end at $1.02 with investors switching ownership of 76,464 stock units. Lasco Financial carved out a loss 1 cent to close at $2.55 and finishing, with 1,750 shares changing hands, Lasco Manufacturing shed 10 cents to end at $3.65 with an exchange of 2,121,219 stock units, Limners and Bards carved out a loss 1 cent and ending at $2.69 in exchanging 66,085 stock units. Lumber Depot dropped by 3 cents to end at $1.04 with investors switching ownership of 21,077 stock units, Mailpac Group gained 6 cents to close at $2.08 in clearing the market with 544,372 stock units. Stationery and Office Supplies lost 6 cents in ending at $5.92, with 550 units changing hands and tTech jumped 55 cents to close at $6.50 in an exchange of 1,995 stock units.
At the close, the Junior Market Index rose 43.57 points to 2,562.54, and the average PE Ratio of the Junior Market ended at 10.8 based on IC Insider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
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.
Jamaican Teas advanced 6 cents to $5.06 in exchanging 2,107 shares, KLE Group rose 20 cents to close at $1.55 while 10,000 shares changed hands, Lasco Financial added 6 cents in closing at $2.56 with investors exchanging 70,158 shares. Lasco Manufacturing gained 10 cents to end at $3.75 in an exchange of 71,824 units, Limners and Bards climbed 25 cents to settle at $2.70 with 298,963 shares changing hands, Lumber Depot increased 2 cents to close at $1.07 with an exchange of 56,079 shares. Mailpac Group fell 1 cent in ending at $2.02 and trading 736,959 units, Medical Disposables in rising 3 cents ended at $5.20 with 60,875 shares clearing the market. SSL Venture dropped 11 cents in closing at 78 cents while trading 100 stock units and tTech lost 55 cents to end at $5.95, with 27,500 units passing through the market.
At the close of the market, Caribbean Assurance Brokers dropped 5 cents to close at $2.10 with investors switching ownership of 7,664 shares, Caribbean Cream rose 23 cents to end at $3.80 and finishing with 109,295 units changing hands, Caribbean Producers carved out a loss 4 cents in closing at $2.36 and clearing the market with 2,562,858 units. Derrimon Trading shed 18 cents to finish at $2.20 with an exchange of 11,000 shares, Everything Fresh shed 3 cents in closing at 66 cents with 185,340 shares crossing the market, Express Catering declined by 15 cents to settle at $4.05, with 100 units passing through the market. Fontana shed 8 cents in closing at $5.01 in exchanging 137,876 stock units, Fosrich fell 8 cents to end at $3.67 and finished trading with 69,531 stock units, General Accident fell 19 cents to $6.80, after 86,846 units crossed the market. Honey Bun in rising 15 cents closed at $5.55 while exchanging 28,004 shares, iCreate dropped by 1 cent to 53 cents and cleared the market with 59,772 units, Jamaican Teas carved out a loss 5 cents to close at $5 with investors switching ownership of 78,000 shares. Jetcon Corporation dropped by 2 cents to end at $1.01, with 110,200 stock units changing hands, Lasco Distributors declined by 22 cents to close at $2.85 with an exchange of 286,800 units, Lasco Financial declined by 5 cents ending at $2.5 while exchanging 89,169 shares. 
Lasco Manufacturing fell by 10 cents in closing at $3.65, with 1,394,200 stock units passing through the market, Limners and Bards dropped 15 cents in ending at $2.45, while trading 26,718 shares, Lumber Depot gained 1 cent to end at $1.05 and exchanging 38,434 units. Mailpac Group gained 3 cents to settle at $2.03, with 1,008,821 units changing hands, Medical Disposables shed 63 cents to end at $5.17, with 155,813 units crossing the exchange, Paramount Trading lost 1 cent to end at $1.80 in an exchange of 37,370 shares. Stationery and Office Supplies carved out a gain of 38 cents to end at $5.98 in exchanging 12 stock units and tTech rose 55 cents to end at $6.50 in trading 33,198 shares.
At the close of the market, Blue Power declined by 16 cents to close at $3.63 with 4,000 stock units crossing the exchange, Caribbean Assurance Brokers carved out a loss 4 cents to settle at $2.15 after exchanging 2,820 stock units, Caribbean Cream gained 31 cents to close at $3.57 with investors swapping 67,995 shares. Caribbean Producers lost 4 cents in ending at $2.40 in an exchange of 46,774 stock units, Derrimon Trading gained 1 cent to settle at $2.38 after 19,924 units changed hands, Fontana advanced 9 cents to end at $5.09 after trading 193,897 stock units. Fosrich rose 14 cents to $3.75 trading 2,149 shares, General Accident fell 1 cent to end at $6.99 after exchanging 1,200 stock units, Honey Bun jumped 50 cents in ending at $5.40 with investors swapping 39,772 units. iCreate after rising 1 cent, ended at 54 cents with a mere 183 stock units, crossing the exchange, Iron Rock Insurance climbed 89 cents to settle at $3.89 with a transfer of 31 shares, ISP Finance fell 5 cents to close at $15.85 in trading 200 shares. Jamaican Teas shed 2 cents to end at $5.05 while trading 1,015 units, Lasco Distributors rose 25 cents in closing at $3.07 and clearing the market with 57,714 shares, 
Lasco Financial added 1 cent in closing at $2.55 after an exchange of 2,594 units. Lasco Manufacturing gained 20 cents and end at $3.75 with 3,230 stock units crossing the exchange, Limners and Bards gained 5 cents to end at $2.60 in exchanging 2,500 units, Lumber Depot advanced by 2 cents to $1.04 trading 54,815 shares. Mailpac Group increased 2 cents to $2 53 with 9,882 shares changing hands, Main Event dropped 5 cents to end at $4, with 129 stock units crossing the exchange, SSL Venture rose 11 cents to close at 89 cents, with 1,000 stock units changing hands. Stationery and Office Supplies fell 38 cents in ending at $5.60 after exchanging 3,695 shares and tTech advanced by $1.25 to $5.95 after 15,631 shares crossed the exchange.