On Wednesday the main market pulled back a few points, having surged for much of the day, with triple digit gains. Thursday was the turn of the junior market to see an apparent closing, that was lower by a few points, with prices trimmed minutes from the close for a number of stocks. The Junior Market ended with 17 securities trading, the most for some time, if not for all times and ended with 296,055 units changing hands valued at $653,047.
The JSE Junior Market Index declined 2.59 points to close at 866.40, with the price of only 3 stocks advancing and 8 declining and 2 closing at 52 weeks’ high as Mayberry intervened with less than 2 minutes to close by selling a series of small amounts to push several junior market stock prices down.
For most of the day until after 12 noon, the index for the junior market was in record territory to an all-time high. In early morning session junior stocks had put on 13.39 points to 882.38 points a then record. Several very small trades executed on the sell side by Mayberry Investments at 12.52 pm pushed the prices of several stocks down. Prior to these trades Mayberry crossed 50,000 Lasco Distributors at $1.50, bringing the price down by 20 cents at 12:18 o’clock from the close on Wednesday and sold 13,000 units to Victoria Wealth Management at the same price for the last trade in the stock for the day. At the close the stock had a bid to buy 106,000 units at $1.52.
At the close of the market, there were 3 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 3 with lower offers. The junior market ended with 4 securities closing with no bids to buy and 7 securities that had no stocks being offered for sale.
Stocks trading in the junior market are, Access Financial trading at a new 52 weeks high of $17, but with just 200 units changing hands to gain $1.90, AMG Packaging ended with 2,115 shares changing hands, to close 5 cents lower, at $3.25. Blue Power traded 979 units to close with a gain of 99 cents at $9.80, to close at a 52 weeks’ high, Cargo Handlers finished with 5,000 units to close unchanged at $22.08, Caribbean Producers ended trading with 16,489 shares trading at $2.88. Consolidated Bakeries traded 968,369 units at $1 as the company reported first quarter results showing profit more than doubling from $4.6 million to $13.9 million. General Accident Insurance concluded trading with 104,533 shares changing hands to close 7 cents lower at $2.08. Honey Bun had just one trade of a mere 2,729 shares with the price falling 40 cents, to $2.50, Jamaican Teas closed trading with 2,170 units and lost 25 cents to $2.65, Lasco Distributors traded 89,880 shares and dropped 20 cents to $1.50, Lasco Financial Services finished trading with 62,331 units, the price slipped 10 cents to $1.35. There was dealing in 9,629 Lasco Manufacturing’s shares as the stock traded lower by 1 cent to $1.34, Paramount Trading ended trading with 102,543 shares to end with an a fall of 28 cents at $3.71 and Derrimon Trading preference share finished traded just 1,000 shares to closed end up 25 cents at $2.25.