Trading on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange resulted in Market Index surging 52.72 points to close at 2,602.92 to cross back above the 2,600 mark after falling below it on Monday, as trading fell back to more normal levels, from the heightened level on Tuesday.
By the close of the market, investors exchanged 4,874,547 shares for $20,159,456 compared to 46,968,202 units at $126,633,229 on Tuesday. The day’s activities saw 35 securities changing hands, with the prices of 12 rising 11 stocks declining and 12 closing with prices remaining unchanged. The average PE ratio of the market ended at 9.9 based on IC Insider.com’s 2020-21 earnings.
The average trade of the day was 139,273 units at $575,984, in contrast to an average of 1,467,756 units for $3,957,288 on Tuesday. The average volume for the month to date amounts to 262,928 units at $761,592 for each security trading, in contrast to 271,188 units at $773,989. In contrast, May closed with an average of 150,274 units for $491,077 for each security.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows one stock ending with the bid higher than the last selling price and one with a lower offer.
At the close of the market, Access Financial lost $2.49 to end at $21.51 in trading 1,000 units, AMG Packaging shed 1 cent in closing at $1.61 with 5,389 shares changing hands, Blue Power dipped by 1 cent to close at $3.60 after swapping 21,320 stock units. Caribbean Flavours dropped $2.10 to $11.90 in trading 14,788 units, Caribbean Producers advanced by 5 cents to end at $2.39 with an exchange of 232,831 units, Derrimon Trading rose 10 cents and ending at $2.40 after swapping 19,100 stock units. Express Catering advanced 2 cents to end at $4.99 in exchanging 750 stock units, Fontana lost 10 cents in closing at $5.50 in trading 310,380 units, General Accident advanced by 26 cents to end at $6.01 in trading 2,352,308 units. GWest Corporation declined by 5 cents to end at 90 cents with an exchange of 1,526 shares, Honey Bun fell by 32 cents to end at $5.33 with 25,700 units changing hands, iCreate lost 3 cents to 58 cents in trading 20,000 stock units. Indies Pharma fell 11 cents to close at $2.55 in exchanging 302,614 units, Jamaican Teas shed 9 cents and ended at $4.49 in trading 22,935 stock units, Knutsford Express gained 20 cents to settle at $8.70 while exchanging 25 units.
Lasco Distributors gained 1 cent to settle at $2.98 with an exchange of 22,760 stock units, Limners and Bards advanced by 1 cent to close at $2.74 after trading 106,712 stock units, Lumber Depot rose 2 cents to settle at $1.13 with 61,947 shares passing through the market. Mailpac Group carved out a 2 cents gain in ending at $1.90 and trading 221,968 units, Main Event shed 5 cents to settle at $4.10 in trading 1,333 shares, Paramount Trading advanced by 2 cents to end at $2 swapping with 1,231 units changing hands. SSL Venture gained 10 cents to end at 85 cents after trading 53,333 stock units and Stationery and Office Supplies garnered a 28 cents rise to close at $6.28 in exchanging 1,660 units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
The prices of the three leading trades declined to help in the Junior Market Index shedding 46.89 points to close at 2,550.20, the second lowest close for the month to date. At the end of the market, 32 securities traded down from 28 securities on Monday as the prices of 11 securities advanced, 13 declined and eight remained unchanged. The PE ratio of the market ended at ten times IC Insider.com projected 2020-21 earnings.
At the close of the market, Access Financial recovered $4 of the $4.74 it lost on Monday to settle at $24 with 3,850 shares changing hands, AMG Packaging dropped 6 cents to $1.62 with 3,601 units changing hands, Blue Power slipped 4 cents in the exchange of 2,926 stock units to end at $3.61. Cargo Handlers shed 30 cents to finish at $7.50 trading 59 units, Caribbean Assurance Brokers gained 10 cents in the exchange of 4,822 shares to close at $2.30, Caribbean Cream closed trading of 2,000,000 units and fell 20 cents to end at $2.47. Caribbean Producers lost 5 cents to settle at $2.34 with 650,144 stock units passing through the market, Dolphin Cove jumped 80 cents after a transfer of 1,660 shares to close at $8.30, Elite Diagnostic added 5 cents to end at $3.83 with 25,182 units changing hands. Fontana traded a staggering 11,483,741 units and dropped 16 cents to close at $5.60, Honey Bun climbed 35 cents to $5.65 with an exchange of 103,044 units, iCreate gained 3 cents in the transfer of 40,000 units to finish at 61 cents. Indies Pharma slipped 14 cents and traded 343,600 shares to finish at $2.66, Jamaican Teas ended at $4.58 after rising 23 cents in exchanging 32,850 stock units, Jetcon Corporation slipped 4 cents to $1.15 in the transfer of 17,392 shares. 
Lasco Distributors closed 1 cent lower at $2.97, with 619,829 units changing hands, Lasco Financial slipped 2 cents to $2.60 with 33,329 units traded, Lasco Manufacturing closed at $4 after adding 1 cent in the transfer of 54,751 shares. Limners and Bards rose 15 cents to $2.73 with 348,673 shares crossing the exchange, Lumber Depot slid 2 cents and swapped 277,086 units to finish at $1.11, Mailpac Group and lost 2 cents to close at $1.88 with investors transferring a stunning 30,777,290 shares. Main Event finished at $4.15 after rising 5 cents and trading 1,000 units and Medical Disposables shed 20 cents to settle at $6.80 with 1,806 stock units crossing the exchange. In the junior market preference segment, CAC 2000 9.5% climbed 16 cents to $1.16, with 1,008 units changing hands.
Similar to Friday, 28 securities changed hands on Monday, with the prices of 10 stocks rising, 10 declining and prices of eight closing unchanged. At the close of trading, the average PE ratio of the Junior Market ended at 9.9 based on iC Insider.com’s forecasted earnings for 2020-21.
Jetcon Corporation lost 1 cent to end at $1.19, with 39,463 shares crossing the exchange, Lasco Financial added 1 cent to settle at $2.62, after exchanging 2,941 units, Lasco Manufacturing shed 1 cent to close at $3.99 in trading 7,397 shares. Limners and Bards rose 12 cents to end at $2.58 after 243,153 shares crossed the market and Mailpac Group gained 2 cents in finishing at $1.90 with 44,084 stock units changing hands.
Following on from last week when the Junior Main Market rose four out of five trading days, the market rose three days this past week with Thursdays decline being a mere seven points and the market rising 12 points for the week.
The past week closed with the three top Junior Market stocks with the potential to gain between 254 to 698 percent by March 2021 are Caribbean Producers, followed by Lasco Financial and Caribbean Cream that took over from Lumber Depot that was number three last week. In the Main Market, the top three continues to be Radio Jamaica continues to lead, followed by Berger Paints and JMMB Group with expected gains of 170 to 230 percent.
Both the Junior and Main markets are currently trading well below this level. The JSE Main Market ended the week, with an overall PE of 14.3 and the Junior Market at just 9.6, based on 2020-21 earnings. The PE ratio for the Junior Market Top 10 stocks averages a mere 5.7 at just 59 percent to the average of the overall Junior Market. The Main Market TOP 10 stocks trade at 8.6 or 60 percent of the PE of the overall market.
The ranking of stocks is in order of likely increases, with the highest-ranked, being the most attractive. The ranking of stocks is in order of likely increases, with the highest-ranked, being the most attractive. 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.
May ended with an average of 150,274 units at $491,077 for each security traded.
Honey Bun rose 6 cents to settle at $5.50 and trading 20,599 stock units, iCreate increased 2 cents end at 61 cents with an exchange of 419,025 shares, Indies Pharma lost 30 cents to end at $2.53 in trading 2,041,908 shares. Jamaican Teas advanced by 6 cents to $4.55 with an exchange of 66,421 stock units, Jetcon Corporation lost 10 cents to close at $1.20 with the transfer of 167,533 stock units, Lasco Distributors gained 7 cents to end at $2.98 with 342,986 stock units crossing the market. Lasco Financial dipped 1 cent to $2.61 after swapping 39,603 units, Lasco Manufacturing increased 10 cents to end at $4 with an exchange of 207,929 stock units, Limners And Bards added 11 cents to settle at $2.46 with trading 47,863 shares. Mailpac Group lost 2 cents to close at $1.88, having swapped 280,194 units and tTech rose 1 cent ending at $4.70 with 1,000 stock units changing hands.
The first half of the week showed promise of an upward trend, but that trajectory hit a minor setback on Thursday with the market index slipping just 7.23 points to close at 2,600.18 as advancing stocks just edged out declining ones.
At the close of the market, Access Financial slipped 1 cent in the trading of 1,000 units to settle at $24.74, AMG Packaging ended 4 cents higher at $1.69 with an exchange of 8,683 shares, Caribbean Assurance Brokers added 6 cents and transferred 1,000 shares to close at $2.25. Derrimon Trading finished at $2.30 after falling 15 cents with 975 units traded, Dolphin Cove jumped 40 cents to close at $7.50 with 1,500 units changing hands, and Elite Diagnostic advanced 15 cents to $4.25 in the trading of 84,251 units. Everything Fresh slipped 1 cent to close at 80 cents after exchanging 2,116 shares, Express Catering dipped 2 cents in trading 24,774 shares to close at $4.89, General Accident shed 12 cents and swapped 716,590 shares to close at $5.38. Honey Bun climbed 14 cents to finish at $5.44, trading 38,535 stock units, iCreate closed at 59 cents after losing 2 cents and exchanging 450,585 shares, Indies Pharma ended 2 cents lower at $2.83 with 138,990 shares changing hands. Jamaican Teas shed 51 cents as investors transferred 670,692 shares to close at $4.49, Jetcon Corporation inched 5 cents higher to $1.30 with an exchange of 53,899 units, Knutsford Express jumped 50 cents to $8.50 with the trading of a mere 9 units. 
Lasco Distributors gained 2 cents and swapped 200 units to close at $2.91, Lasco Financial rose 7 cents to $2.62 with 8,213 shares changing hands, Lasco Manufacturing dipped 5 cents to $3.90 with 118,649 units transferred. Limners and Bards shed 25 cents and exchanged 547,048 shares to settle at $2.35, Lumber Depot closed 2 cents higher at $1.13 with 475,645 units swapped, Mailpac Group gained 4 cents in the trading of 616,680 units to finish at $1.90. Main Event shed 38 cents to settle at $4.10 with 2,900 units changing hands, Medical Disposables climbed 31 cents to end at $7 with 5,000 shares traded and tTech fell 1 cent to $4.69 with 5,370 units crossing the exchange.
Trading on the Junior Market resulted in an exchange of 7,825,083 shares valued at 20,619,430 compared to 5,099,168 units valued at $15,226,012 from 30 securities on Tuesday. The day’s activities saw 28 securities changing hands, with the prices of nine rising 12 declining and seven stocks closing unchanged. The PE ratio of the market closed with an average of 9.9 times IC Insider.com projected 2020-21 earnings.
At the close of the market, AMG Packaging lost 5 cents to settle at $1.65 with an exchange of 514 shares, Blue Power gained 5 cents in closing at $3.65, after exchanging 22,208 stock units, Caribbean Assurance Brokers slipped 1 cent trading 30,679 stock units to finish at $2.19. Caribbean Producers added 3 cents to end at $2.40 in swapping 155,604 shares, Dolphin Cove fell 70 cents to close at $7.10 with 11,000 units changing hands, Elite Diagnostic slipped 7 cents to $4.10 in trading 119,772 shares. Everything Fresh gained 1 cent to settle at 81 cents having swapped 1,259 stock units, Express Catering rose 1 cent and exchanged 26,262 units to end at $4.91, Fosrich shed 1 cent to settle at $3.55 in trading 14,924 stock units. General Accident rose 20 cents to close at $5.50, with a change in ownership of 125,606 units, Honey Bun fell 15 cents to $5.30, swapping 358,619 stock units, iCreate rose 5 cents to 61 cents with an exchange of 418,880 units. Indies Pharma dipped 5 cents to $2.85 with 140,114 shares changing hands, Jamaican Teas climbed 51 cents in trading 420,062 units to close at $5, 
Jetcon Corporation lost 7 cents to settle at $1.25 after exchanging 200,269 shares. Knutsford Express dropped 11 cents to settle at $8 with of 292 stock units changing hands, Lasco Distributors slipped 9 cents to end at $2.89 in trading 8,363 stock units, Lasco Financial gained 1 cent to close at $2.55 in transferring 53,625 shares. Lasco Manufacturing climbed 6 cents closing at $3.95 with 10,099 units traded, Limners and Bards lost 30 cents after a swap of 220,635 stock units to end at $2.60 and Mailpac Group fell 8 cents to $1.86 with 4,165,569 shares crossing the exchange.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows two stock ended with bids higher than its last selling prices and five with lower offers.
Jamaican Teas ended at $4.49 after losing 1 cent and exchanging 272,114 stock units, Jetcon Corporation rose 22 cents to $1.32 with the swapping of 149,487 shares, Lasco Distributors closed 3 cents higher at $2.98, with 592,454 stock units trading. Lasco Financial climbed 3 cents and exchanged 2,000 shares to finish at $2.54, Lasco Manufacturing lost 11 cents in trading 70,050 units to settle at $3.89, Limners and Bards closed 40 cents higher at $2.90, with 1,224,292 stock units changing hands. Mailpac Group added 5 cents to end at $1.94 with 1,268,543 shares crossing the exchange, Main Event finished at $4.48 after rising 40 cents and trading 8,753 units and Medical Disposables ended with a loss of 1 cent at $6.69 with 800 stock units changing hands.
At the close of the market, Access Financial declined $2.24 in trading of 4,500 units at $22.51, CAC 2000 lost $1.40 in exchanging 4,718 units at a 52 weeks’ closing low of $8, Cargo Handlers closed 50 cents higher at $7.50, trading 25,181 stock units. Caribbean Assurance Brokers rose 8 cents and ended with 5,133 stock units changing hands at $2.24, Caribbean Producers lost 4 cents in trading of 954,039 units at $2.36, Express Catering ended trading with 16,529 shares, after rising 10 cents to end at $4.30. Fontana dipped 51 cents in trading of 276,289 units at $5.46, Honey Bun ended market activity exchanging 201,000 shares to close at $5.10, after falling 23 cents. iCreate lost 3 cents in trading of 457,276 units at 55 cents, Indies Pharma closed trading of 957,799 units and gained 7 cents to end at $3, Jetcon Corporation closed trading of 106,326 units and gained 20 cents to end at $1.10. Lasco Distributors ended with a loss of 1 cent at $2.95 with 75,054 stock units changing hands, 
Lasco Financial ended market activity exchanging 7,000 shares to close at $2.51 after falling 13 cents, Lasco Manufacturing ended market activity exchanging 119,598 shares to close at $4, after falling 5 cents. Limners and Bards climbed 35 cents, exchanging 537,280 shares at $2.50. Mailpac Group gained 1 cent with 284,048 shares changing hands at $1.89, Main Event dipped 32cents in trading35,314 units at $4.08, Medical Disposables rose 1 cent to end at $6.70 trading 10,000 shares and SSL Venture declined by 4 cents to settle at 75 cents after 25,931 shares crossed the market.
There was no change to the TOP 10 Main Market this past week.
The retail loan portfolio increased 11 percent over the prior year and included a 14 percent increase in mortgages. The growth in loans is the most critical factor in determining likely gains in profit going forward.
The PE ratio for Junior Market Top 10 stocks averages a mere 5.7 at just 61 percent to the average of the overall Junior Market. The Main Market TOP 10 stocks trade at 8.6 or 62 percent of the PE of the overall market.