The Jamaica Stock Exchange Main Market closed out the worse month in its 50-year history, with a plunge of 29 percent from the start of the month to March 25, before it recovered 41,011.81 of the 154,631.13 points lost up to that point to close the month with a loss of 21 percent.
At the close of trading for March and the end of the first quarter of 2020, the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index soared 15,152.90 points to 416,102.90, the JSE Market Index jumped 13,681.82 points to 379,242.11 and the JSE Financial Index gained 2.76 points to end at 103.30.
The market closed with 48 securities changing hands in the Main and US dollar markets with prices of 29 stocks advancing, 9 declining and 10 securities trading firm. The JSE Main Market activity ended with 42 securities accounting for 46,241,343 units valued at $672,264,195, in contrast to 29,160,780 units valued at $111,371,550 from 39 securities on Monday.
Pulse Investments led trading with 17.2 million shares, for 37 percent of overall Main Market volume, Trans Jamaican Highway traded 7.3 million units, in the JSE US dollar market, the equivalent of 15.7 percent of the Main Market volume and Barita Investments exchanged 7 million units for 15 percent market share.
Other stocks trading more than one million units were Wigton Windfarm with 6.9 million units, Trans Jamaican Highway with 6.1 million shares, JMMB Group with 2.5 million shares and Sagicor Select Financial Fund with 1.1 million units.
The Market closed with an average of 1,100,984 units amounting to $16,006,290 for each security traded, in contrast to 747,712 units valued at an average of $2,855,681 on Monday. The average volume and value for the month to date amount to 1,146,245 units valued at $7,550,295 for each security changing hands compared to 1,148,383 units valued at 7,111,386 for each security traded. 
Trading in February resulted in an average of 624,731 units valued at $3,239,665 for each security.
IC bid-offer Indicator│ At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows fifteen stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and three stocks closing with lower offers. The PE ratio of the market ended at 14.2, while the Main Market ended at 14.5 times 2020/21 earnings.
In the Main Market, Barita Investments climbed $4.01 to $59, in exchanging 6,970,721 shares, Caribbean Cement jumped $5.50 trading 70,198 shares and closed at $45.50, Eppley Caribbean Property Fund shed 50 cents to finish at $39.50, with an exchange of 4,500 units. Grace Kennedy ended $5.50 higher at $60, in switching ownership of 261,243 shares, Jamaica Broilers traded 87,050 shares, with gains of $1.91 to close at $30, Jamaica Producers ended at $23, after climbing $4 while exchanging 163,786 shares. Jamaica Stock Exchange jumped $4.50 to $23.50, with 267,697 shares changing hands, JMMB Group surged $5.98 to reach $39.98, in transferring 2,521,461 shares, Kingston Wharves gained 91 cents to close at $42.91, trading 4,795 units. Mayberry Jamaican Equities ended $1.08 higher in trading 16,911 units at $7.72, PanJam Investment rose $1 to $79, with 54,643 shares changing hands, 
Proven Investments ended at $35, after losing 94 cents while trading 36,309 shares. Pulse Investments added 32 cents to finish at $3.45, in transferring 17,162,610 shares, Sagicor Group leaped $8.40, in exchanging 341,368 shares and closed at $52.40, Salada Foods finished at $29, advancing $4 and trading 20,327 units. Scotia Group closed $3.98 higher at $47.99, with 155,932 shares changing hands, Seprod added $4.50 to end at $47, in swapping 51,191 units, Stanley Motta gained $1.14 exchanging 16,615 units and closed at $5.75. Supreme Ventures shed 50 cents to end at $13, with 177,935 shares traded, Sygnus Credit Investments ended at $18, with gains of $1.40 transferring 154,566 shares, Victoria Mutual Investments exchanged 560,714 shares at $7, after picking up 55 cents and Wisynco Group closed $1.44 higher at $14.69 after trading 501,240 shares.
Prices of securities trading are those for the day’s last transaction unless otherwise stated.
Trading in February resulted in an average of 624,731 units valued at $3,239,665 for each security.
Kingston Wharves slid $1.50 to $42, trading 7,109 units, Mayberry Investments picked up 60 cents and closed at $5.60, with an exchange of 67,881 shares, Mayberry Jamaican Equities shed 36 cents with 16,100 units trading to end at $6.64. NCB Financial Group declined by $4 to close at $150, with 114,390 shares changing hands, 138 Student Living rose 81 cents to end at $5.50, in swapping a mere 86 units, Proven Investments ended at $35.94, after picking up 94 cents and transferring 35,465 shares. Pulse Investments ended at $3.13, with gains of 60 cents trading 1,882,701 shares, Sagicor Group dropped $2.60 to end at $44, with an exchange of 46,235 units, Sagicor Real Estate Fund closed $1.10 higher to $7.70 with the trading of just 1,901 units. Scotia Group a lost $3.49 and finished at $44.01 with 38,328 units changing hands, Seprod added $3.50 to end at $42.50, after transferring 73,476 units, Stanley Motta lost 39 cents swapping 1,000 units and closed at $4.61 and Supreme Ventures fell 49 cents to end at $13.50, with 253,252 shares traded.
Trading in February resulted in an average of 624,731 units valued at $3,239,665 for each security.
NCB Financial Group closed $2 higher at $154, in trading 41,906 shares, 138 Student Living shed 81 cents to end at $4.69 exchanging 6,216 units, Portland JSX closed $1.60 lower to $7.30 after transferring just 416 units. Proven Investments ended at $35, after falling by $1 in trading 19,278 shares, Sagicor Group jumped $4.20 to $46.60, with 70,977 stock units changing hands, Sagicor Real Estate Fund fell 82 cents to $6.60 with the transfer of 5,774 units. Scotia Group climbed $3.50 to finish at $47.50 and trading 77,214 shares, Seprod added $2 to end at $39, with an exchange of 41,696 shares, Sterling Investments picked up 30 cents to close at $2.80, in transferring 1,300 units. Victoria Mutual Investments ended at $6.54, with gains of 48 cents and exchanging 160,790 shares and Wisynco Group closed at $13.30, with a loss of 70 cents after 558,494 shares crossed the exchange.
The PE ratio of the market ended at 14.9, while the Main Market ended at 13.8 times 2019 earnings.
Portland JSX closed $1.60 higher to $8.90 after the transferring of 2,005 units. Proven Investments jumped $3.50 to $36, after exchanging 51,818 shares, Sagicor Group advanced by $2.40 to $42.40, in swapping 608,061 shares, Scotia Group regained ground with gains of $7 to settle at $44, with 170,469 shares changing hands. Seprod added $1 to end at $37, in trading 30,390 units, Stanley Motta shed 74 cents with a transfer of 7,500 units to end at $5. Sterling Investments closed 40 cents lower at $2.50 trading 68,830 units, Supreme Ventures ended at $14, with a loss of 99 cents exchanging 252,623 shares, Sygnus Credit Investments closed 53 cents lower to $16.50, trading 22,971 units and Wisynco Group swapped 840,773 shares at $14, after gaining $1.30.
The average volume and value for the month to date amount to 899,129 units valued at $6,578,450 for each security changing hands compared to 775,631 units valued at $6,653,987 for each company traded. Trading in February resulted in an average of 624,731 units valued at $3,239,665 for each security.
Kingston Wharves closed, with gains of $2 at $44 in trading 2,440 stock units, Mayberry Investments lost 50 cents transferring 27,849 shares to end at a 52 weeks’ low of $5. NCB Financial advanced $5 to $145, trading 67,140 units, 138 Student Living gained 39 cents to close at $4.50, with an exchange of 481 shares, PanJam Investment declined $2 to $78, with 49,817 units crossing the exchange. Portland JSX shed 50 cents trading 17,000 stock units and closed at $7.30, Proven Investments fell $4.98 to $32.50, after transferring 9,581 units, Sagicor Real Estate Fund lost 40 cents to close at $7.40, in swapping 900 stock units. Scotia Group closed 99 cents lower to end at $37, in exchanging 117,469 shares, Seprod ended the day’s trade at $36, with gains of $1 after 10,932 shares changed hands, Stanley Motta added 44 cents with a transfer of 25,175 units to end at $5.74. Sterling Investments closed 65 cents higher to $2.90, trading 116,210 shares, Supreme Investments ended at $14.99, after gaining 99 cents exchanging 433,163 stock units and Wisynco Group closed at $12.79, with a loss of 79 cents after trading 161,608 shares.
The other big move for the day, was the substantial fall of $16 in the shares of NCB Financial to close at $140, the lowest price of in a year.
The Market closed with an average of 1,817,851 units valued $11,653,928 for each security traded, in contrast to 640,893 units valued at an average of $8,466,980 on Monday. The average volume and value for the month to date amount to 775,631 units valued at $6,653,987 for each security changing hands compared to 708,783 units valued at 6,313,433 for each security traded. Trading in February resulted in an average of 624,731 units valued at $3,239,665 for each security.
NCB Financial dropped $16 to a 52 weeks’ low of $140, after trading 2,289,514 units, 138 Student Living lost 30 cents to close at $4.11, with 36,389 shares crossing the exchange, Proven Investments slid to $37.48, after losing $1.02 with 21,006 stock units changing hands. Sagicor Group shed $3 after exchanging 186,808 units and closed at $40, Scotia Group fell by $2.01 to close at a 52 weeks’ low of $37.99, in trading 138,446 shares, Seprod ended at $35, with a loss of $2 in swapping 94,065 units. Stanley Motta closed 30 cents higher with a transfer of 11,000 stock units $5.30, Supreme Investments ended at $14, after a loss of $1 and trading 206,576 shares. Sygnus Credit Investments lost 55 cents to close at $17, in transferring 202,528 stock units, Victoria Mutual Investments slipped to $6.30 after losing 39 cents with 176,895 units changing hands and Wisynco Group closed at $13.49, with gains of 99 cents after exchanging 493,269 shares.
The market closed with 45 securities changing hands in the Main and US dollar markets with prices of 17 stocks advancing, 17 declining and 11 securities trading firm. The JSE Main Market activity ended with 41 securities accounting for 26,276,614 units valued at $347,146,174, in contrast to 36,332,153 units valued at $175,354,038 from 42 securities on Friday.
IC bid-offer Indicator│ At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 11 stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and six stocks closing with lower offers. The PE ratio of the market ended at 14.5, while the Main Market ended at 13.3 times 2019 earnings.
Salada Foods shed $1 to $25, with 9,100 units changing hands, Stanley Motta ended 79 cents higher with 57,275 shares changing hands and settled at $5. Sterling Investments gained 28 cents to close at $2.50 swapping 58,805 stock units. Supreme Investments ended at $15, with gains of 50 cents trading 51,500 units, Sygnus Credit Investments shed 45 cents to close at $17.55, in transferring 136,312 shares. Victoria Mutual Investments lost 31 cents with 335,283 shares crossing the exchange and closed at $6.69 and Wisynco Group lost $2.20 in closing at $12.50, after exchanging 576,137 shares.
At the close, the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index plunged by 8,884.77 points to 403,150.10. The JSE Market Index dropped 8,035.44 points to 367,554.61, off 28 percent for 2020 so far and the JSE Financial Index fell by 2.27 points to 102.61 with a fall of 25.4 percent for the year to date.
Wigton Windfarm led trading with 17 million shares for 46.7 percent of total volume followed by Sagicor Select Financial Fund with 7.2 million units for 19.7 percent of the day’s trade and Sagicor Select Manufacturing & Distribution Fund with 4.3 million units for 12 percent market share. Other stocks trading more than one million units were QWI Investments with 2.2 million units and Sagicor Group, with 1.01 million shares.
Mayberry Jamaican Equities closed 50 cents higher at $6.50 with an exchange of 145,394 units, NCB Financial climbed $4.99 to $150, in transferring 212,384 units. Portland JSX settled at $7.80, with a loss of $1.10 trading 35,000 stock units, Proven Investments slid to $37, after falling by $2.79 with 8,819 shares crossing the exchange, Sagicor Group dropped $3.10 in swapping 1,012,113 units and closed at $49 after trading down to $43. Sagicor Real Estate Fund shed 99 cents trading 1,100 units to end at $7, Scotia Group dived by $6 to close at $40, with 340,790 shares changing hands, Seprod ended $2.50 higher with a transfer of 191,047 and settled at $37. Victoria Mutual Investments gained 67 cents trading 404,688 shares and closed at $7 and Wisynco Group closed at $14.70 after gaining 70 cents in swapping 540,430 shares.
Wigton Windfarm led trading with 5.7 million shares for 25.6 percent of total volume followed by Sagicor Select Financial Fund with 2.3 million units for 10.4 percent of the day’s trade and Sagicor Select Manufacturing & Distribution Fund with 2.3 million units for 10.3 percent market share. Barita Investments with 1.79 million shares and Jamaica Broilers, with 1.8 million shares, was the only other stock trading more than one million units.
JMMB Group closed $1.39 lower to $35.61, in trading 466,367 shares, Kingston Wharves slid $1.60 to $42, in swapping 624,349 units, PanJam Investment climbed $1 to $80 with an exchange of 564,828 shares, Portland JSX advanced by $1.10 to $8.90 after transferring 31,000 units, Sagicor Group climbed $6.10 to settle at $52.10, trading 537,957 stock units. Sagicor Real Estate Fund closed at $7.99, with a gain of $1.49 with 4,798 units crossing the exchange, Salada Foods picked up $ 1 swapping 229 units and closed at $26, Seprod shed 50 cents trading 60,448 to end the day’s trade at $34.50. Sterling Investments closed 40 cents lower to $2.20, with 301,662 shares changing hands, Supreme Ventures rose 60 cents to $14.50, with a transfer of 874,523 shares, Victoria Mutual Investments shed 67 cents and ended at $6.33, trading 237,971 shares and Wisynco Group declined by $2.70 to $14, with 347,564 units crossing the exchange.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows thirteen stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and five stocks closing with lower offers. The PE ratio of the market ended at 15.3, while the Main Market ended at 14.3 times the 2019 earnings.
Scotia Group shed $1.18 to settle at $46.82, in swapping 81,985 stock units, Seprod lost 50 cents trading 42,597 units and closed at $40.50, Supreme Ventures ended at $16, with a loss of $1.82 transferring 459,765 shares. Sygnus Credit Investments lost 75 cents to end at $17.25, in swapping 49,449 shares and Wisynco Group declined by 38 cents to $16.62, after 277,802 shares changed hands.