Main Market barreling forward

The Main Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange continues to claw back losses resulting from the fallout from the dividend payout restrictions placed on banks for the rest of 2020, with the leading indices rising robustly for a fourth consecutive day.

The Jamaica Stock Exchange main market AJ index closing higher on Friday after bouncing from a higher low than the prior one. – positive indicator.

At the close, the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index advanced by 5,956.56 points to 410,544.06, the JSE Market Index climbed 5,306.68 points to 374,196.18 and the JSE Financial Index added 1.53 points to 100.67.
The market closed with 44 securities changing hands in the Main and US dollar markets with prices of 20 stocks advancing, 13 declining and 11 securities trading firm. The JSE Main Market activity ended with 40 securities accounting for 15,759,687 units valued at $268,967,167, in contrast to 22,545,407 units valued at $84,409,280 from 42 securities on Thursday.
Trans Jamaican Highway led trading with 5.4 million shares for 34 percent of total volume followed by Pulse Investments with 4.3 million units for 27 percent of the day’s trade and Barita Investments with 2.5 million units for 16 percent market share.
The Market closed with an average of 393,992 units valued $6,724,179 for each security traded, in contrast to 536,795 units valued at an average of $2,009,745 on Thursday. The average volume and value for the month to date amount to 340,094 units valued at $3,082,315 for each security changing hands, compared to 398,499 units with an average of $2,361,153. Trading in April resulted in an average of 1,077,021 units valued at $3,829,201 for each security.
IC bid-offer Indicator│ At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows eight 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 13.9, while the Main Market ended at 14.2 times 2020-21 earnings.
In the Main Market, Barita Investments lost $2.85 in closing at $51, while trading 2,504,402 shares, Caribbean Cement jumped $6.01 to $52, after transferring 13,388 stock units, Eppley climbed $2.98 with 300 units changing hands at $14.98. Eppley Caribbean Property Fund dropped $3.01 to end at $30, after swapping 30,390 stock units, First Rock Capital traded 100 units at $11.40, after rising 40 cents, Grace Kennedy ended at $57.40, with a loss of 60 cents in transferring 160.565 shares. JMMB Group picked up 47 cents to settle at $33.98, after exchanging 156,708 shares, Key Insurance gained 49 cents to end at $9.50, in transferring 160,287 shares, Mayberry Jamaican Equities ended $1.40 higher at $9.90, with an exchange of 100 units. NCB Financial Group added 50 cents to finish at $145.50, in trading 304,742 shares, Palace Amusement fell by $50 to $1,450, in swapping 238 units, Pulse Investments ended at $2.10, with a loss of 35 cents, with 4,295,911 shares changing hands. Sagicor Group shed 90 cents to finish at $45.50 trading 7,944 units, Scotia Group closed at $47.99, with gains of $3.99 transferring 949,370 shares, Seprod ended $1.99 lower at $44.01, with an exchange of 10,750 units. Supreme Ventures picked up 70 cents with the transfer of 171,031 shares and closed at $14.70, Sygnus Credit Investments gained 68 cents to end at $16.93, after swapping 33,349 stock units and Wisynco Group ended the day with a gain of  50 cents at $17.50, in trading 144,741 shares.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

More recovery for JSE Main Market

The Main Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange continued its spirited run since it fell to under 40,000 points on April 28, after banking stocks got battered by the suspension of dividends, orchestrated by Bank of Jamaica.  
At the close of trading, the market was enjoying its third straight day of gains, with the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index climbing 2,698.18 points to 404,587.50, the JSE Market Index added 2,528.96 points to 368,889.50 and the JSE Financial Index gained 1.05 points to 99.14.
The market closed with 46 securities changing hands in the Main and US dollar markets with prices of 17 stocks advancing, 16 declining and 13 securities ending unchanged. Two preference stocks closed at 52 weeks’ low. The JSE Main Market activity ended with 42 securities accounting for 22,545,407 units valued at just $84,409,280, in contrast to 13,244,349 units valued at $91,265,025 from 41 securities on Wednesday.
Trans Jamaican Highway led trading with 12.8 million shares for 57 percent of total volume followed by Pulse Investments with 3.9 million units for 17 percent of the day’s trade and Wisynco Group with 1.3 million units for just under 6 percent market share.
The market closed with an average of 536,795 units valued at $2,009,745 for each security traded, in contrast to 323,033 units valued at an average of $2,225,976 on Wednesday. The average volume and value for the month to date amount to 398,499 units valued at $2,361,153 for each security changing hands, compared to 362,134 units at an average value of $2,453,398. Trading in April resulted in an average of 1,077,021 units valued at $3,829,201 for each security.
IC bid-offer Indicator│ At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows nine 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, while the Main Market ended at 14.2 times 2020-21 earnings.
In the Main Market, Eppley added 64 cents to end at $12, with 5,000 units changing hands, Eppley Caribbean Property Fund shed 99 cents trading 2,272 units to settle at $33.01, Grace Kennedy closed at $58, with gains of 65 cents in transferring 27,376 stock units. Jamaica Broilers finished the day $1.27 higher at $25.27, after swapping 62,448 shares, Jamaica Producers lost $1.54 and ended at $18.95, exchanging 5,120 units, Jamaica Stock Exchange gained 35 cents transferring 11,900 units and closed at $20.90. JMMB Group closed 49 cents lower to $33.51, in trading 165,473 shares, Key Insurance shed $1.03 to settle at $9.01 after it traded at an all-time high of $11.50, with an exchange of 535,846 shares, Mayberry Investments closed 60 cents lower at $5.20, in swapping 151,000 shares. Mayberry Jamaican Equities gained 51 cents to end at $8.50, with 1,700 units changing hands, MPC Caribbean Clean Energy soared $15.50 to $175.50, after swapping 110 units, NCB Financial Group advanced by $3 to $145, with a transfer of 21,887 stock units. Palace Amusement tumbled to $1,500, after sustaining a loss of $200 in trading 122 shares, PanJam Investment advance by $4.70 to $77.70, with an exchange of 155 units, Pulse Investments gained 39 cents to finish at $2.45, after transferring 3,855,905 shares, following the release of nine months results. Scotia Group closed at $44, with a loss of 90 cents trading 71,618 stock units, Seprod ended $2 higher at $46, with 9,465 units crossing the exchange, Stanley Motta rose 54 cents to $5.14, after swapping 9,473 units. Supreme Ventures fell $1.10 to $14 after transferring 225,244 shares and Wisynco Group ended 65 cents lower at $17, with 1,327,496 shares changing hands.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

Recovery path for JSE Main Market

The Main Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange continued its winning ways on Wednesday after a brief break on Monday when the market indices slipped and ended with advancing stocks outpacing declining ones three to two.

JSE Main Market showing signs of recovery after falling following BOJ suspension of banks’ dividend payments.

At the close, the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index advanced by 2,855.18 points to 401,889.32, the JSE Market Index gained 2,584.67 points to 366,360.54 and the JSE Financial Index rose 0.73 points to 98.09.
The market closed with 44 securities changing hands in the Main and US dollar markets with prices of 20 stocks advancing, 14 declining, including a big fall in the price of Palace Amusement by $1,098 and 10 securities trading firm. The JSE Main Market activity ended with 38 securities accounting for 13,244,349 units valued at $91,265,025, in contrast to 8,751,199 units valued at $77,299,031 from 38 securities on Tuesday.
Wigton Windfarm led trading with 5.2 million shares for 39 percent of total volume followed by Trans Jamaican Highway with 4.6 million units for 35 percent of the day’s trade and PanJam Investment with 600,640 units for 4.5 percent market share.
The Market closed with an average of 323,033 units at $2,225,976 for each security traded, in contrast to 230,295 units valued at an average of $2,034,185 on Tuesday. The average volume and value for the month to date amount to 362,134 units at $2,453,398 for each stock changing hands, compared to 375,605 units with an average value of $2,531,754 previously. Trading in April resulted in an average of 1,077,021 units valued at $3,829,201 for each security.
IC bid-offer Indicator│ At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows eight stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and seven stocks closing with lower offers. The PE ratio of the market ended at 14, while the Main Market ended at 14.1 times 2020/21 earnings.
In the Main Market, Barita Investments added $1.85 to finish at $53.85, with 43,017 stock units changing hands, Berger Paints gained 95 cents, transferring 142 units to close at $14.20, Eppley ended 36 cents higher at $11.36, after trading 2,000 units. Grace Kennedy finished at $57.35, with a loss of 65 cents after swapping 5,983 units, Jamaica Producers advanced to $20.49, after rising $1.49 exchanging 46,968 stock units, Jamaica Stock Exchange fell $1.05 to $20.55, with a transfer of 28,239 units. JMMB Group closed $1 higher to $34, with an exchange of 224,468 shares, Key Insurance climbed $1.94 to end at a new record high of $10.04, after trading 244,878 shares, Mayberry Investments gained 45 cents in swapping 788 units and closed at $5.80. NCB Financial Group advanced $7 to $142, in trading 28,328 units, Palace Amusement dived $1,098 trading just three shares to close at $1,700, PanJam Investment declined by $4.50 to a 52 weeks’ low of $73, with 600,640 shares changing hands. Sagicor Real Estate Fund closed at $7.95, with gains of $1.26 with 800 units crossing the market. Salada Foods climbed $4.50 to $29 in exchanging 1,936 units, Scotia Group gained 65 cents to end at $44.90, with a transfer of 8,399 units. Seprod fell to $44, with a loss of $2.40 trading 15,369 units, Supreme Ventures closed 40 cents lower to $15.10, with 40,810 stock units changing hands, Sygnus Credit Investments gained $1.30 to reach $16.50, after swapping 33,390 stock units and Wisynco Group ended the 65 cents higher at $17.65, with a transfer of 449,719 shares.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

JSE Main Market closed with gains

Trading on the Main Market of Jamaica Stock Exchange sank on Tuesday as fewer securities changed hands with a much lower with the average volume being just 31 percent that on Monday.
At the close, the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index advanced 1,805.60 points to 399,034.14, the JSE Market Index gained 1,535.01 points to end at 363,775.87 and the JSE Financial Index lost 0.05 points to 97.36.
The market closed with 41 securities changing hands in the Main and US dollar markets with prices of 12 stocks advancing, 22 declining and seven securities trading firm. The JSE Main Market activity ended with 38 securities accounting for 8,751,199 units valued at a low $77,299,031, in contrast to 29,595,732 units valued at $155,534,212 from 40 securities on Monday.
Trans Jamaican Highway led trading with 3.3 million shares for 37.5 percent of total volume followed by Sagicor Select Financial Fund with 860,185 units for 10 percent of the day’s trade and Wigton Windfarm with 756,266 units for 8.6 percent market share.
The Market closed with an average of 230,295 units at $2,034,185 for each security traded, in contrast to 739,893 units valued at an average of $3,888,355 on Monday. The average volume and value for the month to date amount to 375,605 units valued at $2,531,754 for each security changing hands, compared to 443,776 units with an average cost of $2,765,181. Trading in April resulted in an average of 1,077,021 units valued at $3,829,201 for each security.
IC bid-offer Indicator│ At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows twelve 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 13.9, while the Main Market ended at 14.1 times 2020-21 earnings.
In the Main Market, Barita Investments gained 40 cents trading 86,170 shares to close at $52 after the stock traded down to $45 during the day. Eppley transferred 58,856 shares at $11, after losing $1, Eppley Caribbean Property Fund ended $1.50 lower at $34, with 120 units changing hands. Jamaica Broilers lost $1 to close at $24, with the swapping of 27,887 stock units, Jamaica Stock Exchange climbed $1.10 to $21.60, in an exchange of 64,146 shares, Key Insurance shed 35 cents to settle at $8.10, with 302,746 shares crossing the exchange. NCB Financial Group sustained a loss of $7.50 to close at $135, after transferring 140,023 shares, 138 Student Living closed 69 cents lower to $6.31, in swapping 250 units, PanJam Investment picked up $1 to end at $77.50 trading 13,244 stock units. Sagicor Group ended at $46.50, with gains of $1.50 exchanging 316,045 shares, Salada Foods tumbled $4 to $24.50, after trading a mere one stock unit, Seprod advanced $2.40 to $46.40, with an exchange of 17,376 stock units. Stanley Motta fell by 60 cents to $4.70, in transferring 9,346 units, Supreme Ventures ended 90 cents lower at $15.50, after swapping 187,479 shares, Sygnus Credit Investments closed at $15.20, with a loss of 80 cents exchanging 103,586 shares and Wisynco Group lost 40 cents trading 168,450 shares to finish at $17.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

JSE Main Market closed down – Monday

The Jamaican Stock Exchange Main Market shot up 4,787 points within 30 minutes of trading to 405284.40 but failed to hold on to the early gains at the close of the market.
At the close of trading, the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index declined by 3,268.96 points to 397,228.54, the JSE Market Index dropped 2,888.59 points to 362,240.86 and the  JSE Financial Index lost 0.60 points to 97.41.
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 40 securities accounting for 29,595,732 units valued at $155,534,212, in contrast to 6,350,098 units valued at $68,445,442 from 41 securities on Friday.
Trans Jamaican Highway led trading with 13.9 million shares for 47 percent of total volume followed by Mayberry Jamaican Equities with 9.7 million units for 33 percent of the day’s trade and Wigton Windfarm with 2 million units for 7 percent market share.
The Market closed with an average of 739,893 units valued at $3,888,355 for each security traded, in contrast to 154,880 units valued at an average of $1,669,401 on Friday. The average volume and value for the month to date amount to 443,776 units valued at $2,765,181 for each security changing hands. Trading in April resulted in an average of 1,077,021 units valued at $3,829,201 for each security.
IC bid-offer Indicator│ At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows nine 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 14.1, while the Main Market ended at 14.3 times 2020/21 earnings.
In the Main Market, Barita Investments declined by $1.85 to $51.60, with an exchange of 43,168 stock units, Caribbean Cement closed $1 higher to $45.99, in transferring 4,850 units, Eppley ended at $12, with a loss of $3 after trading 13,922 units. Grace Kennedy settled at $58, after gaining $1 and swapping 17,132 units, Jamaica Stock Exchange closed $1.10 lower to $20.50, with a transfer of 43,338 stock units, Key Insurance picked up $1.45 in trading 160,949 shares and finished at a record high of $8.45. Kingston Properties gained $1.65 to end at $6.15, after exchanging 200 units, Mayberry Investments shed 40 cents to close at $5.40, in switching ownership of 74,079 shares, MPC Caribbean Clean Energy climbed $13 to $160 trading a mere 100 units. NCB Financial Group closed at $142.50, with a loss of $2.50 after transferring 115,522 shares, PanJam Investment lost 50 cents to close at $76.50, with 230 units changing hands, Proven Investments rose 49 cents exchanging 11,104 units to end at $36.50. Sagicor Real Estate Fund closed $1.25 lower to settle at $6.50, in swapping 6,438 units, Scotia Group added 50 cents to finish at $44.50, in trading 9,250 units, Seprod ended at $44, with a loss of 85 cents exchanging 6,938 units and Supreme Ventures added 50 cents to close at $16.40, trading 229,782 shares.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

Just two IC TOP 10 changes

The week just ended saw investors knocking bank stocks down following the surprise announcement by Bank of Jamaica to get banks to suspend the payment of dividends for the remainder of 2020 and that helped to push the market index sharply lower with some recovery on the last three days of the week.
Caribbean Cement and NCB Financial released first-quarter results in the past week with lower profit than the previous year’s March quarter. As if investors expected the outturn, the stock prices did not seem to react to them.
The Junior Market, after attempting to close higher for the past six days finally did so on Friday a sign that it could be heading higher in the days ahead as it traded as high as 2,478 points on Friday just below the close on April 16.
 The Junior and Main Market, IC Insider.com TOP 10 closed the week with one change each. Dropping from the list are Access Financial Services for the Junior Market and replaced by Stationery and Office Supplies, while Stanley Motta dropped from the Main Market listing and replaced by Victoria Mutual Investments.
The three top Junior Market stocks with the potential to gain between 344 to 660 percent by 2021 are Caribbean Producers leading, followed by Lasco Financial and KLE Group. In the Main Market, Radio Jamaica continues to lead, followed by Berger Paints and JMMB Group, with projected gains of 173 to 213 percent.
This week’s focus: Stationery and Office Supplies fell from a high of $16.35 last august is now trading at a discount of 61.5 percent to that price. The stock had moved from $6.85 in May last year to the high after revenues climbed by 23 percent for the half-year to $639 million to $519 million and profits rose 63 percent from $56 million to $92 million. The half years revenues compare favourably with the $702 million generated in the twelve months in 2016, the year before listing in 2017. Revenues grew around 12 percent from 2013 to 2016, then increased to 17.4 percent for 2018 and 14.5 percent for 2019. The company has an excellent management team that is growth-oriented as such investors can look forward to revenues growing in the 15-20 percent range going forward. In pursuit of this objective, the company is putting in place additional storage facilities to accommodate a robust expansion of sales. Investors should not rule out the possibility that they could expand from acquisitions as well as was the case with the addition of the business making the SEEK brand. While the disruption caused by the Coronavirus could derail the medium-term growth, it will only be a matter of time for management to pick up and return to the pre virus growth levels.
The targeted average PE ratio of the market is 20 based on the profits of companies reporting full year’s results for the financial year ending after this year’s second quarter and up to the second quarter in 2021. 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 12.5 and the Junior Market a mere 9, based on current 2020-21 earnings. The PE ratio for Junior Market Top 10 stocks averages a mere 5.3 with the Main Market at a much higher level of 8.3.
The TOP 10 stocks now trade at a discount of 43 percent of the average for Junior Market and Main Market stocks trade at a discount of 34 percent to the overall market. The average projected gain for the IC TOP 10 stocks is 319 percent, for the Junior Market and 148 percent for the JSE Main Market, based on 2020-21 earnings.
IC TOP 10 stocks are likely to deliver the best returns to March 2021. Forecasted earnings and PE ratio for the current fiscal year are in determining potential gains. 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. Earnings per share are revised on an ongoing basis when new information is received that can affect earnings significantly.

Persons who compiled this report may have an interest in securities commented on in this report.

JSE Main Market stretches gains into May

JSE Main market stocks climbed higher at the close on Friday on top of substantial gains on Wednesday and a more moderate increase on Thursday as advancing stocks were marginally less than declining ones.
At the close of trading, the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index advanced by 1,102.78 points to 400,497.50, the JSE Market Index climbed 1,083.49 points to 365,129.45 and the JSE Financial Index added 0.04 points to 98.01.
The market closed with 44 securities changing hands in the Main and US dollar markets with prices of 16 stocks advancing, 17 declining and 11 securities trading firm. Main Market activity ended with 41 securities accounting for 6,350,098 units valued at $68,445,442, in contrast to 79,915,162 units valued at $130,493,189 from 41 securities on Thursday.
Wigton Windfarm led trading with 1.5 million shares for 23.3 percent of total volume followed by Trans Jamaican Highway with 1.1 million units for 17.6 percent of the day’s trade and Supreme Ventures with 583,782 units for 9.2 percent of the market’s volume.
The Market closed with an average of 154,880 units at $1,669,401 for each security traded, in contrast to 1,949,150 units valued at an average of $3,182,761 on Thursday. Trading in April resulted in an average of 1,077,021 units valued at $3,829,201 for each security.
IC bid-offer Indicator│ At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows eleven stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and eight stocks closing with lower offers. The PE ratio of the market ended at 14, while the Main Market ended at 14.2 times 2020-21 earnings.
In the Main Market, Barita Investments shed 40 cents and closed at $53.45, with an exchange of 2,367 units, Berger Paints closed 50 cents lower to $13, in trading 2,000 units, Eppley climbed $1.50, with a transfer of 1,030 units at $15. Eppley Caribbean Property Fund lost 50 cents to end at $35.50, after swapping 1,070 units, Jamaica Producers gained 43 cents to settle at $18.93, in transferring 16,450 stock units, Jamaica Stock Exchange fell $1.40 to $21.60, after exchanging 1,819 units. JMMB Group declined to $33, with a loss of 99 cents trading 360,765 shares, Mayberry Jamaican Equities closed $1.60 lower to $8.20 trading 4,411 units, NCB Financial Group closed at $145, with gains of $2 after swapping 85,918 shares. PanJam Investment gained 60 cents to close at $77, with 56,155 shares changing hands, Proven Investments shed 99 cents with a transfer of a mere 20 units and closed at $36.01, Sagicor Real Estate Fund gained 64 cents to settle at $7.75, in swapping 10,864 stock units. Scotia Group closed 50 cents higher at $44, in trading 56,801 shares and Supreme Ventures gained 90 cents to end at $15.90, trading 583,782 shares.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

JSE Main Market ends April on a high

The Jamaica Stock Exchange Main Market closed on Thursday and April positively with advances on the Composite, JSE Market and Financial Indices. The market closed 16,708.18 points down on the March close, with Bank of Jamaica’s suspension of banking dividends, knocking 19,422.69 points off the All Jamaican Composite Index.
At the close, the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index increased 1,822.62 points to 399,394.72, the JSE Market Index gained 1,640.98 points to close at 364,045.96 and the JSE Financial Index rose 0.61 points to 97.97.
The market closed with 45 securities changing hands in the Main and US dollar markets with prices of 23 stocks advancing, 11 declining and 11 trading firm. The JSE Main Market activity ended with 41 securities accounting for 79,915,162 units valued at $130,493,189 in contrast to 7,206,423 units valued at $124,023,333 from 37 securities on Tuesday.
Wigton Windfarm led trading with 60 million shares for 75 percent of total volume followed by Trans Jamaican Highway, with 17 million units, for 21 percent of the day’s trade and Sagicor Select Financial Fund with 752,103 for one percent market share.
The Market closed with an average of 1,949,150 units valued $3,182,761 for each security traded, in contrast to 194,768 units valued at an average of $3,351,979 on Wednesday. The average volume and value for the month to date amount to 1,077,021 units valued at $3,829,201 for each security changing hands, compared to 1,033,414 units valued at $3,863,268 previously. Trading in March resulted in an average of 1,146,245 units valued at $7,550,295 for each security.
IC bid-offer Indicator│ At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows eleven stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and seven stocks closing with lower offers. The PE ratio of the market ended at 14, while the Main Market ended at 14.3 times 2020-21 earnings.
In the Main Market, Barita advanced 85 cents to finish at $53.85 with a transfer of 2,750 stock units, Caribbean Cement closed 99 cents lower at $45 with an exchange of 113,500 units, Cigarette distributors, Carreras rose 20 cents to end at $6.50 in trading 95,773 units. Eppley gained 50 cents to end at $13.50 after exchanging 4,885 units, Grace Kennedy jumped $1.80 in swapping 157,328 units to end at $57, Jamaica Producers added 50 cents to settle at $18.50, with 104,351 shares changing hands. Jamaica Stock Exchange gained $2.20 to end at $23 after trading 418,016 units, Key Insurance jumped 50 cents, pushing it to a record high to $7, with a transfer of 14,750 stock units. Mayberry Equities climbed $1.30 to $9.80 trading 12,100 units, MPC Caribbean Clean Energy dropped $2 to $147 after just 261 units crossed through the exchange. NCB Financial Group shed $3 in closing at $143, trading 56,094 shares, PanJam Investment closed $1.40 higher at $76.40, in exchanging 243,133 stock units, Proven Investments gained $1.90 to finish at $37, with 2,385 stock units changing hands. Sagicor Real Estate Fund lost 64 cents exchanging 20,018 units to settle at $7.11, Salada Foods climbed $2.50 to $28.50 after trading 1,900 units, Scotia Group rose $2.50 to $43.50, after transferring 54,471 stock units. Seprod picked up $1.50 to close at $45, in trading 13,743 shares and Wisynco Group lost 54 cents to end at $17.36, with 48,127 units crossing the exchange.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

JSE Main Market month-end rally

The Jamaica Stock Exchange Main market closed ahead of the month-end on a positive note with the market index rising after NCB Financial Group put on $8 to recover some of its recent losses.

NCB Financial bounced $8 on Wednesday and helped to lift the JSE market index.

At the close, the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index 4,251.05 points to 397,572.10, the JSE Market Index dropped 3,892.00 points to close at 362,404.98 and the JSE Financial Index rose 1.87 points to 97.36.
The market closed with 44 securities changing hands in the Main and US dollar markets with prices of 12 stocks advancing, 22 declining and ten securities trading firm. The JSE Main Market activity ended with 37 securities accounting for 7,206,423 units valued at $124,023,333, in contrast to 96,137,935 units valued at $316,661,417 from 36 securities on Tuesday.
Trans Jamaican Highway led trading with 1.9 million shares for 26.5 percent of total volume followed by QWI Investments with 995,244 units for 13.8 percent of the day’s trade and Pulse Investments with 851,165 units for 12 percent market share.
The Market closed with an average of 194,768 units valued $3,351,979 for each security traded, in contrast to 2,670,498 units valued at an average of $8,796,150 on Tuesday. The average volume and value for the month to date amount to 1,033,414 units valued at $3,863,268 for each security changing hands, compared to 1,073,044 units valued at $3,888,297 for each security traded. Trading in March resulted in an average of 1,146,245 units valued at $7,550,295 for each security.
IC bid-offer Indicator│ At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows eleven 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 13.8, while the Main Market ended at 14.1 times 2020-21 earnings.
In the Main Market, Caribbean Cement gained 99 cents to close at $45.99, with a transfer of 27,975 stock units, Eppley Caribbean Property Fund advanced by $2.99 to $36, in trading 808 units, First Rock Capital closed 75 cents lower to $11.25, after exchanging 11,226 units. Grace Kennedy fell $1.69 swapping 9,077 units to end at $55.20, Jamaica Broilers finished at $25, with a loss of $1.10 in transferring 275,520 shares, Jamaica Producers shed 75 cents to settle at $18, with 132,079 shares changing hands. Key Insurance raked in 95 cents to reach a record high of $6.50, with a transfer of 25,094 stock units, Mayberry Investments lost 30 cents trading 3,413 units and closed at $5.50, MPC Caribbean Clean Energy climbed $2 to $149, after swapping 420 units. NCB Financial Group recovered $8 of the recent losses to close at $146, trading 437,464 shares, PanJam Investment closed $1 lower at $75, in exchanging 317,961 shares, Proven Investments declined $2.40 to finish at $35.10, with 44,783 stock units changing hands. Scotia Group fell $2 to $41, after transferring 33,448 stock units, Seprod picked up $1.50 to close at $43.50, in trading 8,215 units and Stanley Motta gained 30 cents to end the day at $5, with 15,000 units crossing the exchange.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

BOJ dividend ban slaps JSE Main Market

Bank of Jamaica’s decision, to slap a ban on the payment of dividends for the rest of 2020 by financial banking groups, took another big bite out of the local stock market on Tuesday. Investors continue to react negatively to the decision by more selling of stocks in the banking sector with all four falling, taking the market index down with by another day of big losses following the slide on Monday.  
At the close, the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index declined 11,964.17 on Monday, fell a further by 13,352.19 points to close at 393,321.05. The JSE Market Index dropped 12,250.06 points on top of the 10,830.61 points fall on Monday to 358,512.98 and the JSE Financial Index lost 4.24 points to 95.49. The losses pushed the year to date loss to 30 percent, for main market stocks and ahead of the Junior Market that is down by 28 percent for the year.
The market closed with 39 securities changing hands in the Main and US dollar markets with prices of 11 stocks advancing, 24 declining and 4 securities trading firm. The JSE Main Market activity ended with 36 securities accounting for 96,137,935 units valued at $316,661,417, in contrast to 18,718,741 units valued at $83,219,012 from 40 securities on Monday.
Radio Jamaica led trading with 66.7 million shares for 69.4 percent of total volume followed by Trans Jamaican Highway with 14.7 million units for 15.3 percent of the day’s trade with the price ending at a record closing high of $1.40. Wigton Windfarm followed with 6.6 million units for 6.9 percent market share. The only other stock trading more than one million units was Jamaica Stock Exchange with 3.9 million units.
The Market closed with an average of 2,670,498 units valued at an average of $8,796,150 for each security traded, in contrast to 467,969 units valued at an average of $2,080,475 on Monday. The average volume and value for the month to date amount to 1,073,044 units valued at $3,888,797 for each security changing hands, compared to 996,058 units valued at $3,638,209 for each security traded. Trading in March resulted in an average of 1,146,245 units valued at $7,550,295 for each security.
IC bid-offer Indicator│ At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows nine 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 13.9, while the Main Market ended at 14.1 times 2020-21 earnings.
In the Main Market, Barita Investments ended the day’s trade at $53, having lost $1.90 exchanging 4,872 units, Berger Paints closed 40 cents lower to settle at $13.50, in trading 8,147 units, Caribbean Cement lost $1 trading 163,854 shares to close at $45. Grace Kennedy shed 61 cents in transferring 14,047 stock units and closed at $56.89, JMMB Group fell by $1 to $34, with 290,970 shares changing hands, Key Insurance added 35 cents to finish at a 52 weeks’ high of $5.55, after swapping 91,058 shares. Kingston Properties ended at a 52 weeks’ high of $4.50, with a loss of $1.50 after a transfer of 56,639 stock units, Mayberry Investments gained 60 cents trading 28,831 units and closed at $5.80, NCB Financial Group fell $2 to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $138, with an exchange of 276,121 shares. PanJam Investment closed 50 cents higher to $76 after 482,161 shares changed hands, Proven Investments declined to $37.50, after losing $1.35 transferring 359 units, Sagicor Group closed $1 lower to $45, in swapping 73,341 shares. Scotia Group traded $2 lower to end at $43, with an exchange of 255,788 shares and Seprod ended with a loss of $2.60 to close at $42, in trading 101,200 shares.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.