All three markets of the Jamaica Stock Exchange declined moderately at the close of trading on Thursday following a fall in the number and value of traded shares dropped compared to Wednesday’s trading.
At the close of trading, the JSE Combined Market Index dropped 994.07 points to 334,761.41, the All Jamaican Composite Index shed 1,879.32 points to 357,059.58. The JSE Main Index shed 971.08 points to end at 322,099.07, the Junior Market Index declined 9.51 points to 3,731.89 and the JSE USD Market Index slipped 1.27 points to end at 241.06.
At the close of trading, 17,340,719 shares were exchanged in all three markets, down from 26,660,691 units on Wednesday, with the value of stocks traded on the Junior and Main markets amounted to $109.09 million, down from $154.59 million on Wednesday and the JSE USD market closed with an exchange of 156,654 shares for US$16,462 compared to 664,963 units at US$18,341 on Wednesday.
Main Market trading was dominated by Wigton Windfarm led trading with 3.55 million shares followed by Transjamaican Highway with 2.04 million units and GraceKennedy with 687,786 units
In the Junior Market, Future Energy led trading with 2.23 million shares, followed by Derrimon Trading with 888,112 units and Jamaican Teas with 641,782 units.
At the close of the market, some of the major Main Market stocks that rose are AS Bryden climbed $1 to end at $43, Caribbean Cement popped $3.74 to $55, Eppley Caribbean Property Fund rallied $2.49 and ended at $40, Guardian Holdings advanced $20 and ended at $389, Jamaica Producers gained $1 to end at $27 and Seprod increased $2.70 to close at $85.70.
The major declining Main Market stocks include Pan Jamaica skidded $3.95 to $45.55, Sagicor Group fell 99 cents to end at $42 and Scotia Group dropped $2.34 in closing at $39.06.
Trading ended in the Junior Market, with only moderate price changes.
In the preference segment, Jamaica Public Service 9.5% declined $50 to close at $2,850.
The market’s PE ratio, the most popular measure used to determine the value of stocks, ended at 21.4 on 2022-23 earnings and 13.9 times those for 2023-24 at the close of trading. ICInsider.com PE ratio chart and the more detailed daily charts provide investors with regularly updated information to help decision-making.
The PE ratio chart covers all ordinary shares on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, grouped by industry, allowing for easy comparisons between the same sector companies and the overall market. The EPS & PE ratios are based on 2023 and 2024 actual or projected earnings, excluding major one off items.
Investors need pertinent information to navigate numerous investment options successfully in the stock market. The ICInsider.com PE ratio chart and the more detailed daily report charts provide investors with regularly updated information to help decision-making.
Investors should use the chart to help make rational decisions when investing in stocks close to the average for the sector and not going too far from it unless there are compelling reasons to do so. This approach helps to remove emotions from investment decisions and place them on fundamentals while at the same time not being too far from the majority of investors. Investors who buy when the price of a stock is close to the average will find that they are not inclined to overpay for a stock.
The net asset value of each company is reported as a guide to quickly assess the value of stocks based on this measure. The chart also shows daily changes in stock prices and the percentage year to date price movement based on the last traded prices.
Dividends paid or payable and yields for each company are shown in the Main and Junior Markets’ daily report charts, along with the closing volume pertaining to the highest bid and the lowest offer for each company.
JSE main market pull back ends – Thursday
JSE slowly moving upwards.
The pull back from the record reached on Friday by Jamaica Stock Exchange ended with a modest rise in the market index on Thursday as the price of 8 stocks rose, 9 declined and 11 traded firm.
At the close, the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index rose modestly and ended with an increased by 24.50 points at 328,387.59 and the JSE Index advanced by 22.32 points to 299,198.19.
Caribbean Cement shed $1.80 to close at $35.50, Grace Kennedy rose $1 to $49 and PanJam Investments traded at a new high of $46 with a rise of $1.
At the end of market activities, 28 securities traded, compared to 29 on Wednesday, in the main and US dollar markets and resulted in 5,201,225 units valued at $121,866,039 
compared to 4,614,305 units valued at $109,133,839 changing hands in the main market, on Wednesday.
JMMB Group trade 2,027,120 units and accounted for 38.97 percent of trading volume, followed by Wisynco Group with 1,193,538 units and 22.95 percent of the volume and Caribbean Cement with 979,272 units and 18.83 percent of the day’s volume.
Trading resulted in an average of 200,047 units valued at an average of $4,687,155 for each security traded. In contrast to 170,900 units for an average of $4,041,993 on Wednesday. The average for the month to date is 367,467 shares with a value of $20,307,869 and previously 389,231 shares with a value of $49,857,592. 
In contrast, April closed with an average of 708,206 shares with a value of $6,395,518 for each security traded.
In the US dollar market, Proven Investments traded with 206.397 shares and fell 3 cents to 20 US cents and the market index dropped 8.89 ended at unchanged at 165.29. JMMB Group 5.75% US preference share traded 14,000 units at US$1.01, up by a cent.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 4 stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and 1 closing with a lower offer.
For more details of market activities see – .
Market up 4 of 5 days to Monday
The main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange continued its quiet move higher as the market closed on Monday with gains on 4 days out of 5. The market ended with 26 securities changing hands and 1 trading in the US dollar market. At the close, 12 stocks advanced and 8 declined and 3 stocks closed at 52 weeks’ high.
Trading levels in main market ended at 1,892,384 units valued at $17,691,277 compared to 2,910,852 units valued at $97,817,290 at the close on Friday. Trading in the US dollar market accounted for just 760 units valued at US$228.
The All Jamaica Composite Index gained 1,103.05 points to close at 251,873.90 the JSE Market Index advanced 1,005.00 points to finish at 229,485.66 and the JSE US dollar market index remained at 760 points at the close.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading in the main and US dollar markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 9 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 3 with lower offers.
The main market ended trading with an average of 184,556 units valued at $680,434 per security compared to an average of 116,434 units and $3,912,692 on Friday. The average trade for the month to date ended at 454,388 units and $5,163,911 versus an average of 454,388 units and $5,508,794 on the prior trading day. The average volume and value for March ended at 549,909 units and $1,379,459.
In market activity, Barita Investments closed at $7.10 with trades of 300 shares, Berger Paints closed at $14.99, with gains of $1.47 exchanging 1,230 shares, Cable and Wireless closed at $1.36, losing 4 cents with 1,031,203 shares changing hands, Caribbean Cement traded $2 lower at $30 with an exchange of 75,122 units. Carreras closed at a 52 weeks’ high of $75.90, with gains of 90 cents while exchanging 12,046 shares, Grace Kennedy closed at $44, with a loss of 50 cents trading 31,293 units, Jamaica Broilers closed at $16.80 with 19,196 shares changing owners, Jamaica Producers closed at $15.50 exchanging 2,602 shares, Jamaica Stock Exchange closed 50 cents lower at $8, trading 107,792 shares. JMMB Group closed 29 cents higher to $19.99 trading 54,400 units, Kingston Properties gained 50 cents to close at $16 exchanging 5,980 units, Kingston Wharves closed at $32, while rising 50 cents trading 13,221 units,
NCB Financial Group traded at $65, with 37,342 shares changing hands, 1834 Investments gained 15 cents to close at $1.65, with an exchange of 40,389 shares, PanJam Investments closed 95 cents higher to $35.60 trading 5,345 shares. Pulse Investments lost 1 cent with 200,000 shares changing hands, to end at $8.04,Radio Jamaica was down 4 cents to close at $1.75 with trades of 5,300 shares, Sagicor Group closed at $33, losing 50 cents with an exchange of 39,945 shares, Sagicor Real Estate Fund rose 45 cents to close at $10.50, with 991 shares being swapped, Scotia Group closed at $41 exchanging 61,310 units, Seprod closed $1 higher to $36, trading 1,563 shares, Supreme Ventures closed at $6.35, losing 3 cents exchanging 57,364 shares. Proven Investments closed at 30 US cents with trades of 760 ordinary shares, Proven Investments 8.25% preference share gained 6 cents in trading 20,000 units at $5.17, JMMB 7.25% preference share traded 10 cents higher to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $2.51 with 25,000 units changing hands, and JMMB 7.50% preference share closed 8 cents higher to $1.88 with trades of 26,250 units.
Trinis missing the salient points
Another Trinidad company (Massy Holdings) is set to list on the Jamaica Stock Exchange on the basis that the sophistication and growth opportunities are evident in the Jamaican securities market that has become increasingly more dynamic over the past few years.
They may be right about the Jamaican capital market, but they are missing the real issues. The stock prices of listed companies in T&T Stock Exchange have been priced out of the reach of the average Trinidadians and the directors don’t seem to understand that or worse seem to care about the smaller investors. Guardian Holdings with 232,024,923 million shares issued and Massy with nearly 98 million shares will just not have the liquidity to trade frequently in good volumes in either the Trinidad or Jamaican market. Unfortunately, those are not the only companies in that market that are so affected. The companies need to have the issued number of shares increased. for decent trading in the Jamaican market around two to three billion issued shares will be an appropriate level.
The other factor is the need to put the companies on a growth path for profits that investors can have confidence in acquiring and holding the shares. The weakness in this area of profitability, is not the sole purview of the companies, as the government has a role to play in this.
Guardian Holdings hit 52 weeks high on TTSE.
The evidence is crystal clear, investors love stock splits and they help move stock prices as investors buy up shares they previously ignore for being overpriced. This has been without a doubt the clear case in the Jamaican market. For years PanJam Investments directors resisted recommending to shareholders the splitting of the company’s stocks but relented a few years ago, with the stock price that was stagnant for years coming to life and rewarded shareholders with much higher value afterward. It is therefore difficult to understand why directors, with the evidence so clear, want to have elevated stock prices and limited liquidity of their stock. Last year Apple and Tesla sand split their stocks to much investors acclaim, just this week Nvidia Corporation in the USA, with the price jumping after announcing a four for one split.