Prices of 17 stocks rose at the close of trading on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Thursday and helped in pushing the market index above the 2,600 points mark for the first time in December and is at the highest point since mid-August.
Trading ended with 37 securities changing hands, with nine declining and 11 remaining unchanged.
At the close, the Junior Market Index climbed 25.62 points to 2,614.15 and the average PE Ratio ended at 14 based on ICInsider.com’s forecasted 2020-21 earnings.
The market closed with an exchange of 76 percent more shares and 85 percent higher value than on Wednesday after 5,946,650 shares changed hands for a consideration of $15,620,193, well up from 3,383,825 units at $8,437,647 on Wednesday. Lumber Depot led trading with 27.2 percent of total volume after an exchange of 1.61 million shares followed by Fosrich with 23 percent for 1.37 million units and Derrimon Trading with 20.1 percent and the trading of 1.19 million stock units.
Trading averaged 160,720 units at $422,167 in contrast to 91,455 at $228,045 on Wednesday. Trading month to date averaged 272,104 units at $631,633 compared to 282,156 units at $650,536 on Wednesday. November closed with an average of 193,331 units at $566,885 trading.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows five stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and two with lower offers.
At the close of the market, AMG Packaging gained 9 cents to close at $1.64, after clearing the market with 1,000 units, Cargo Handlers rose 30 cents to settle at $6.80 trading 5,276 stock units, Caribbean Assurance Brokers closed at $1.80 with gains of 5 cents after 63,271 shares crossed the exchange. Caribbean Cream carved out a gain of 9 cents to end at $4.19, with 64,594 shares changing hands, Caribbean Flavours closed 7 cents higher at $1.67, in trading 113,834 shares, Caribbean Producers lost 5 cents to settle at $2.70, after exchanging 174,898 shares. Consolidated Bakeries slipped 1 cent to $1.39 in trading 1,000 units, Derrimon Trading shed 29 cents to settle at $2.20, with 1,194,540 shares changing hands, Elite Diagnostic lost 3 cents trading 25,329 stock units to end at $2.99. Everything Fresh picked up 3 cents to close at 74 cents, after an exchange of 1,000 units, Express Catering gained 28 cents to end at $3.78, with investors swapping 500 units, Fontana closed 24 cents higher at $5.49, with 96,452 shares crossing the exchange. General Accident gained 15 cents in closing at $6.05 trading 655 units, GWest Corporation ended 73 cents, with gains of 7 cents after transferring 1,100 units, Honey Bun rose 4 cents to close at $6.09, with an exchange of 7,951 units. Indies Pharma lost 2 cents to settle at $2.70, after clearing the market with 94,052 shares, Iron Rock Insurance declined by 5 cents to $3.05, with an exchange of 30,000 stock units, Jamaican Teas gained 19 cents to close at $2.04 after transferring 414,656 shares. 
Lasco Manufacturing lost 1 cent to end at $3.88, with 80 units changing hands, Limners and Bards gained 5 cents to settle at $3.05, after trading 116,719 shares, Lumber Depot fell by 6 cents to $1.50, with 1,614,599 shares crossing the market. Mailpac Group lost 1 cent in closing at $2.84 after 298,911 shares changed hands, Main Event gained 5 cents to end at $3.05, with an exchange of 2,903 units, Stationery and Office Supplies rose 79 cents to settle at $4.54, with 213 units crossing the market and Tropical Battery picked up 4 cents to end at $1.20 trading 86,840 shares.
In the preference segment, Derrimon Trading gained 1 cent to settle at $2.10, trading 96 units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Mailpac Group climbed 22 cents in exchanging 839,236 stock units to end at $2.85, Main Event fell 5 cents to $3 with investors switching ownership of 5,000 shares, Medical Disposables advanced 27 cents to end at $4.27 with the trading of 24,750 units. Paramount Trading dropped 19 cents to $1.35 with 1,000 stocks passing through the market, Stationery and Office Supplies shed 80 cents to end at $3.75 with a transfer of 3,397 stock units and tTech rose 21 cents to $4.30 with 3,550 shares crossing the exchange.
Trading ended with 34 securities changing hands compared to 38 on Monday and concluded with the prices of 14 stocks rising, 11 declining and nine finishing unchanged. At the close, the average PE Ratio ended at 13.7 based on ICInsider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
Monday. November averaged 193,331 units at $566,885.
Limners and Bards exchanged 501,415 stock units and rose 15 cents to finish at $3, Lumber Depot gained 10 cents to close at $1.60 with 117,993 shares passing through the market, Mailpac Group traded 939,501 units and lost 10 cents to close at $2.63. Main Event rose 6 cents to $3.05 with a transfer of 127,073 stocks, Medical Disposables gained 10 cents to end at $4 with the trading of 2,000 stock units, SSL Venture climbed 10 cents to 55 cents with 39,100 units changing hands and tTech dropped 21 cents to $4.09 with 6,731 shares crossing the exchange.
At the close of the market, Access Financial fell 10 cents to $20.10 with an exchange of 8,666 shares, AMG Packaging declined 22 cents to $1.46 with 158,125 stocks changing hands, Blue Power dropped 36 cents to $3 with 15,265 units trading. CAC 2000 jumped $2 to $10 with 2,182 shares traded, Cargo Handlers lost 20 cents to close at $6.80 with a transfer of 100 stock units, Caribbean Producers inched 1 cent higher to $2.95 with an exchange of 21,296 units. Derrimon Trading rose 25 cents to $2.50 with 1,235 stocks changing hands, Dolphin Cove climbed 80 cents to $6.80 with investors switching 161 shares, Elite Diagnostic gained 5 cents to close at $3.05 with 43,857 stock units traded. Everything Fresh closed 4 cents higher at 75 cents with a transfer of 2,412 stocks, Fontana slipped 7 cents to $5.43 with 127,515 units passing through the market, Fosrich exchanged 2,852,248 shares and shed 56 cents to end at $3.43. General Accident dropped 14 cents to $5.96 with 51,248 units changing hands, GWest Corporation rose 2 cents to 77 cents with a transfer of 1,000 stock units, Honey Bun fell 69 cents to $5.80 with 31,194 stocks changing hands. iCreate gained 11 cents to finish at 70 cents with 25,769 shares passing through the market, Indies Pharma slipped 2 cents to $2.48 with an exchange of 31,307 stocks, Iron Rock Insurance advanced 22 cents to $3.10 after trading 725 stock units.
Lasco Manufacturing dropped 20 cents to $3.70 with 708 shares changing hands, Limners and Bards rose 6 cents to $2.85 with a transfer of 180,351 units, Lumber Depot increased 16 cents to $1.50 with 628,682 stocks passing through the market. Mailpac Group traded 3,053,112 stock units and settled with a gain of 13 cents to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $2.73 after the price bolted to an intraday record high of $3.10. Main Event declined 1 cent to $2.99 with 15,369 units trading, Medical Disposables fell 10 cents to $3.90 with investors switching ownership of 4,295 stocks. SSL Venture dropped 14 cents to a 52 weeks’ low of 45 cents with 100,000 units changing hands and Tropical Battery slipped 1 cent to $1.16 with 90,846 shares crossing the exchange.
The Junior Market closed the week at the highest level since November 17 and before that, October 2 and seems poised to take out all recent highs on the way to the year-end rally and a bullish period to come, to take it over 3,000 points. The main Market pulled back from last week’s levels but closed at the highest point for the week on Friday.
Honey Bun dropped out of the TOP 10, with Derrimon Trading replacing it at the bottom of the list. Honey Bun’s stock price jumped 19 percent for the week to $6.49 on Friday, with the stock now showing very limited supply and a bit of demand on the buying side, although a bit below the last sale price. The increased demand this week follows a strong September quarter profit that rose 76 percent over 2019. Wisynco Group spent just a week in the Main Market TOP 10, moved up in price to close out the week with the stock rising to $16.43 from $16.10 and replaced by NCB, in at the tenth position. The projections are for earnings to recover from the increased provision for expected credit loss charges in 2020 and from continued growth in the business and deliver earnings of $12 per share for the current year to September.
Former TOP10 holder MailPac, hit a record high on Friday, in closing at $2.60, up 19 percent from $2.19 last week. Lumber Depot reported earnings for the October quarter, keeping earnings on track for 20 cents per share and put added life into the stock, moving the price up 6 percent to close the week at $1.39 at a PE of 7 times earnings, well below the market average of 13.7. Caribbean Producers moved up 13 percent from $2.60 to $2.94 at the close and up a nice 21.5 percent for the month to date. The stock seems on target to move back into the $4 range sooner than later, with stock supplies thinning out and prospects for improved business looking increasingly better in 2021.
Diagnostic and Jamaican Teas. Lumber Depot, in at third position last week, is now down to sixth after investors responded positively to quarterly results. With expected gains of 146 to 236 percent, the top three Main Market stocks are Berger Paints, followed by Radio Jamaica and Carreras.
The average projected gain for the Junior Market IC TOP 10 stocks is 192 percent down from 210 percent and 129 percent from 133 percent last week for the JSE Main Market, based on 2020-21 earnings. IC TOP 10 stocks are likely to deliver the best returns up to March 2021 and ranked in order of potential gains, based on likely gain for each company, taking into account the earnings and PE ratios for the current fiscal year. Expected values will change as stock prices fluctuate and result in movements in and out of the lists weekly. Revisions to earnings per share are ongoing, based on receipt of new information.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows four stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and four with lower offers.
Lumber Depot lost 2 cents in ending at $1.34, with 132,904 shares changing hands, Mailpac Group gained 25 cents to end at a record high of $2.60 trading 619,404 shares, Medical Disposables lost 2 cents to end at $4, after 5,102 units were traded. Paramount Trading rose 2 cents to $1.54, in exchanging 4,528 units, SSL Venture closed 7 cents lower at 59 cents trading 12,552 units, Stationery and Office Supplies rose 95 cents to $4.55, with 1,470 units changing hands and Tropical Battery gained 4 cents to close at $1.17 after an exchange of 164,691 shares.
At the close of the market, Blue Power lost 2 cents to end at $3.36, with 1,330 units passing through the market, Caribbean Assurance Brokers gained 8 cents to close at $1.88 after an exchange of 18,613 stock units, Caribbean Cream lost 1 cent in closing at $4.02, trading 29,376 stock units. Caribbean Producers rose 24 cents to $2.94, with an exchange of a mere 500 units, Consolidated Bakeries gained 28 cents, in ending at $1.40 trading 1,082 shares, Derrimon Trading shed 20 cents to settle at $2.30, after exchanging 10,000 stock units. Dolphin Cove dropped $1 to $6 in transferring 2,000 units, Everything Fresh lost 5 cents to close at 66 cents trading 40,151 shares, Express Catering gained 10 cents to finish at $3.50, with 3,350 units changing hands. Fontana picked up 5 cents in closing at $5.45, with an exchange of 124,807 shares, Fosrich lost 3 cents in ending at $3.96 and trading 6,579 units, General Accident gained 10 cents to $6.10, with 20,650 stock units crossing the market. Honey Bun rose 28 cents to end at $5.98, with 20,525 stock units changing hands, Indies Pharma lost 13 cents to close at $2.37, in transferring 27,616 stock units, ISP Finance climbed $2 to $19, after trading 4,759 units. Jamaican Teas gained 8 cents to settle at $1.88, exchanging 795,272 shares, Jetcon Corporation rose 4 cents to 79 cents trading 12,429 stock units, Lasco Distributors closed 25 cents higher at $3.45, with an exchange of 10,000 units. Lasco Financial slipped 10 cents to close at $2.55 after 80,500 shares passed through the market, Lasco Manufacturing gained 16 cents in closing at $3.85, with investors swapping 18,615 stock units, Limners and Bards gained 10 cents to close at $2.70 trading 8,691 units. 
Lumber Depot closed at $1.36, with gains of 18 cents as investors swapped 967,216 shares, Mailpac Group added 10 cents in closing at $2.35 trading 1,348,067 shares, SSL Venture gained 10 cents to settle at 66 cents, in exchanging 100,000 shares. Stationery and Office Supplies shed 50 cents to $3.60 after transferring 9,460 units and Tropical Battery lost 6 cents to close at $1.13, exchanging 366,394 shares.
For the month to date, the average trade is 381,049 units at $858,170, compared to 367,408 units at $829,230 on Tuesday. November closed with an average traded of 193,331 units at $566,885.
Lumber Depot slipped 2 cents to $1.18 with a transfer of 86,618 stocks, Mailpac Group traded 14,262,739 shares and gained 6 cents to settle at $2.25, Main Event shed 25 cents to close at $3 with 6,366 units passing through the market. Medical Disposables fell 12 cents to $4.02 with an exchange of 29,098 stock units, Paramount Trading advanced 18 cents to $1.52 with 73,494 shares changing hands, SSL Venture rose 3 cents to 56 cents with a transfer of 500 stocks and Stationery and Office Supplies gained 10 cents to end at $4.10 with 2,954 units crossing the exchange.
At the close of the market, Access Financial jumped $2.11 to $22.06 with an exchange of 10 shares, AMG Packaging slipped 9 cents to $1.60 with 1,597 stocks changing hands, Blue Power dropped 43 cents to $3 with owners switching 5,010 stock units. Cargo Handlers shed 88 cents and traded 2,000 units to close at $6.32, Caribbean Assurance Brokers gained 7 cents to finish at $1.80 with 13,146 shares passing through the market, Caribbean Flavours lost 5 cents to end at $1.70 with a transfer of 5,451 stocks. Derrimon Trading fell 24 cents to $2.31 with an exchange of 27,140 units, Dolphin Cove rose 76 cents to $7 with 6,740 stock units changing hands, Everything Fresh slipped 6 cents to 65 cents with 137,787 shares changing hands. Fontana rose 6 cents to $5.45 with 410,784 stocks traded Fosrich gained 39 cents to $3.99 with 50,004 units passing through the market, General Accident rose 4 cents to end at $6 with a transfer of 8,677 stock units. Honey Bun gained 20 cents to close at $5.70, in exchanging 54,932 shares, iCreate increased 5 cents to 67 cents with 1,736 units changing hands, Indies Pharma advanced 14 cents to $2.50, after trading 2,750 stock units. Iron Rock Insurance climbed 15 cents to $2.95 with 35,035 stocks passing through the market, ISP Finance jumped $6.05 to $23.05 with a transfer of 500 shares, Jamaican Teas traded 426,360 stock units and rose 8 cents to $1.88. Lasco Distributors slipped 1 cent to $3.17 with 25,684 stocks changing hands, Lasco Financial gained 6 cents to close at $2.71 with an exchange of 8,328 units, Lasco Manufacturing advanced 22 cents to $3.90 with investors switching ownership of 37,767 shares.
Lumber Depot rose 2 cents to $1.20 with 150,700 stock units passing through the market, Mailpac Group traded 44,229,960 shares in adding 1 cent to close at $2.19, Medical Disposables advanced 13 cents to $4.14 with a transfer of 24,644 units. SSL Venture slipped 2 cents to 53 cents exchanging 18,220 shares, Stationery and Office Supplies declined by 5 cents to $4 with 3,350 stock units changing hands, Tropical Battery gained 6 cents to finish at $1.19 with 41,500 units traded and Tech climbed 21 cents to $4.30 with 35 stocks crossing the exchange.
November closed with an average of 193,331 units at $566,885 trading.
KLE Group rose 15 cents to $1.15 with 3,000 units passing through the market, Lasco Financial gained 5 cents to close at $2.65 in trading 2,425 shares, Lasco Manufacturing dropped 12 cents to end at $3.68 with a transfer of 7,439 stock units. Limners and Bards fell 10 cents to $2.60 with 47,694 stocks trading, Mailpac Group slipped 1 cent to $2.18 with an exchange of 253,036 units, Medical Disposables fell 33 cents to $4.01 with 8,932 shares changing hands. Paramount Trading declined by 16 cents to finish at $1.34 with 15,075 stocks passing through the market, SSL Venture rose 1 cent to 55 cents with a transfer of 600 units, Stationery and Office Supplies fell 38 cents to $4.05 with the trading of 76,597 stock units and Tropical Battery slipped 2 cents to $1.13 with 317,250 shares crossing the exchange.
