Rising stocks dominated the Jamaica Stock Exchange Main Market on Monday and drove the primary market indices higher after an exchange of 75 percent more shares than on Friday, with a slight dip in the value of stocks changing hands.
At the close, the All Jamaican Composite Index advanced by 4,791.17 points to 408,016.86, the Main Index climbed 4,053.26 points to 372,153.01 and the JSE Financial Index gained 1.04 points to settle at 97.24.
Trading ended with 44 securities changing hands compared to 41 on Friday and closed with the prices of 17 stocks rising, 17 declining and 10 remaining unchanged. The market’s average PE Ratio ended at 15.2 based on the IC Insider.com forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
The market closed with an exchange of 15,995,307 shares for $79,703,616 compared to 9,117,461 units at $80,839,987 on Friday. Transjamaican Highway led trading with 58.5 percent of total volume as 9.35 million shares changed hands followed by QWI Investments with 8 percent or 1.29 million units and Wigton Windfarm, 5.9 percent, with 946,319 units shares.
Trading ended with an average of 363,530 units changing hands at $1,811,446 for each security, compared to an average of 222,377 shares at $1,971,707 on Friday. For the month to date, the average trade amounts to 256,184 units at $1,636,720 for each security, in contrast to 198,584 units at $1,542,965. 
Trading month to date compares adversely to September’s average of 265,170 units at $3,271,625.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows 10 stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and four with lower offers.
At the close of the market, Barita Investments rose $2.92 to close at $77.90, trading 334,913 shares, Berger Paints advanced by $2.48 to close at $13.48, as investors switched ownership of 13,856 stock units, Eppley fell $1.70 to $21, clearing the market with 5,114 stock units. Eppley Caribbean Property Fund declined by $9 in ending at $41, after exchanging 540 units, First Rock Capital lost 35 cents in closing at $12.90, in trading 26,522 stock units, Jamaica Broilers Group shed 99 cents to end at $25.01, in exchanging 24,776 stock units. Jamaica Producers Group closed at $20, having lost 50 cents after trading 21,701 stock units, 
JMMB Group gained 40 cents to close at $29.50, with an exchange of 145,377 shares, Kingston Wharves gained 85 cents to finish at $50, with 8,689 units crossing the market. Mayberry Investments shed 74 cents to end at $5.40, with 3,052 units changing hands, Mayberry Jamaican Equities rose 50 cents to $8.50, in transferring 57,660 shares, MPC Caribbean Clean Energy jumped $7 to $170, after exchanging 428 units. Pan Jam Investment climbed $1.50 to $69.50, with 15,507 shares crossing the market, Portland JSX closed $1.14 higher at $8.19, in transferring 10,378 stock units, Sagicor Group gained 90 cents to settle at $45, with 20,241 stocks changing hands. Scotia Group dropped $3.17 to finish at $46.31 trading 55,877 shares, Sygnus Credit Investments gained 49 cents in closing at $19.49, with an exchange of 8,778 units and Wisynco Group lost 39 cents to close at $15.60 transferring 150,994 shares.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
For a fourth consecutive week, there were no changes in the companies on the IC TOP 10 listings. The markets moved moderately higher to close at their highest levels since mid-August for the junior Market. The Main Market closed at its highest level at the close of September since the beginning of July gave up all the gains on Wednesday and Tuesday to close back at mid-September level on Friday.
This week’s focus: Jamaican Teas came in for increased buying during the past week after the company advised the Jamaica Stock Exchange that the board of directors will meet to determine a new record date for the sub-division of the Company’s shares, following the deferral at the Annual General meeting. The stock traded at $4.30 on September 29 and closed at $4.83 on Wednesday, with 161,040 units changing hands, with the offer at $4.50. The volume ballooned to over one million units on Thursday, with the price hitting $5.55 during the day. The company completed the 2020 fiscal year at the end of September.
The market’s targeted average PE ratio is 20 based on the profits of companies reporting full year’s results, from now to the second quarter in 2021. Both the Junior and Main markets are currently trading well below this level, indicating the potential gains ahead. The JSE Main Market ended the week, with an overall PE of 15.1 and the Junior Market 11.2, based on IC Insider.com’s projected 2020-21 earnings. The average PE ratio of the Junior Market has been slowly rising, with better profit opportunities than the Main Market and narrowing the gap. The PE ratio for the Junior Market Top 10 stocks average a mere 6.1 at just 54 percent to the overall Junior Market average. The Main Market TOP 10 stocks trade at a PE of 8.2 or 54 percent of the PE of the overall market.
The average projected gain for the Junior Market IC TOP 10 stocks is 283 percent, and 153 percent for the JSE Main Market, based on 2020-21 earnings, indicates potentially greater gains in the Junior Market than in the Main Market.
Friday’s fall, along with a big decline on Thursday, wiped out all of the 9,745.94 points gains recorded by the All Jamaican Composite Index on Wednesday.
The average trade for the month to date ended at 198,584 units at $1,542,965 for each security, in contrast to September’s average of 265,170 units at $3,271,625.
MPC Caribbean Clean Energy advanced by $28 to $163, after trading only one stock unit, NCB Financial fell $1 in closing at $130 and clearing the market with 91,324 shares, PanJam Investment climbed $2 to close at $68, in trading 24,433 stock units. Sagicor Group dropped $2.30 to $44.10, with investors switching ownership of 9,874 units, Seprod shed 90 cents to finish at $55, in exchanging 15,520 shares. Supreme Ventures declined by $1.25 to settle at $14.75, in transferring 120,086 units, Sygnus Credit Investments fell 50 cents to close at $19, after clearing the market with 23,747 stock units and Wisynco Group gained 47 cents to settle at $15.99, in trading 1,215,482 shares.
At the close, the All Jamaican Composite Index dived 4,940.46 points to 411,986.10; the Main Index declined 4,741.22 points to 375,684.76 and the JSE Financial Index shed 1.90 points to settle at 98.55.
Trading ended with an average of 174,792 units changing hands at $1,114,224 for each security compared to an average of 363,264 shares at $4,595,186 on Wednesday. Trading in September averaged 265,170 units at $3,271,625.
Mayberry Investments declined 95 cents to close at $5.30 while exchanging 10 shares. Mayberry Jamaican Equities closed at $8, with a loss of 30 cents after 1,007,542 stocks passed through the market, MPC Caribbean Clean Energy fell $15 to $135, in trading 361 units, PanJam Investment fell $3.50 to $66, with investors switching ownership of 4,329 units. Proven Investments finished $2.45 lower at $36, with 20,251 stock units crossing the market, Pulse Investments shed 47 cents in ending at $4.53, with investors switching ownership of 277,932 shares, Scotia Group lost 40 cents to end at $49.48 after exchanging 9,525 stock units. Stanley Motta dropped 42 cents to $4.70, in transferring 10,411 units, Supreme Ventures rose $2 to $16, in trading 222,950 shares and Wisynco Group lost $1.38 to settle at $15.52, in exchanging 49,570 stock units.
</Trading month to date compares adversely to, August with an average of 497,441 units at $3,201,918.
MPC Caribbean Clean Energy dropped $5 to settle at $150, with 1,605 stock units passing through the market, PanJam Investment carved out a gain of $3.49 in closing at $69.50, with 24,108 stock units passing through the market, Portland JSX dropped 45 cents to close at $7.05 with investors switching ownership of 106,892 shares. Sagicor Group carved out a gain of $2.10 to settle at $46.40 while exchanging 1,571,769 units, Stanley Motta climbed 47 cents to close at $5.12, with 33,715 stocks clearing the market. Supreme Ventures dropped 40 cents in closing at $14, with 5,437 shares changing hands, Sygnus Credit Investments advanced $1.70 and ended at $19.40 in exchanging 93,341 shares and Wisynco Group advanced 45 cents to close at $16.90 trading 55,901 stock units.
At the close, the All Jamaican Composite Index climbed 266.78 points to 407,180.62, the JSE Main Index rose 241.38 points to 371,646.76 and the JSE Financial Index gained 0.77 points to settle at 97.38.
Trading ended with an average of 141,706 units changing hands at $2,006,430 for each security compared to an average of 271,037 shares at $5,471,715 on Monday. Trading resulted in an average of 260,128 units at $3,203,598 for each security for the month to date on Monday. Trading month to date compares adversely to August’s average of 497,441 units at $3,201,918.
Kingston Wharves dropped $3.50 to $46, in an exchange of 862 units. Mayberry Investments ended at $5.16, with a loss of 94 cents, with 23,101 stock units clearing the market, Mayberry Jamaican Equities shed 64 cents to end at $7.66, with 10,351 units changing hands, NCB Financial closed at $131, after a loss $1.99 with investors switching ownership of 22,813 stock units. Palace Amusement dropped $319.99 to end at $1,300.01 in exchanging 50 units, Scotia Group climbed $2.76 to $49.90, trading 47,610 shares, Seprod gained 40 cents to settle at $55.90, with 17,499 stock units crossing the exchange. Stanley Motta lost 48 cents to end at $4.65 trading 935 shares, Supreme Ventures advanced $1.40 to $14.40, with an exchange of 528,693 shares and Wisynco Group gained 55 cents in closing at $16.45, after 44,087 shares passed through the market.
At the close of trading, the All Jamaican Composite Index dropped 1,325.14 points to 406,913.84, the JSE Main Index fell 1,198.98 points to 371,405.38 and the JSE Financial Index shed 0.73 points to settle at 96.61.
The average trade for the month to date ended at 266,398 units at $3,266,977 for each security, in contrast to 266,157 units at $3,152,375. Trading month to date compares adversely to August’s average of 497,441 units at $3,201,918 for each security.
NCB Financial Group gained 89 cents, in ending at $132.99 with investors swapping 172,508 shares. 138 Student Living rose 35 cents to end at $4.85, after clearing the market with 15,605 stock units, PanJam Investment dropped $3.49 to $66.01, in transferring 150,938 shares, Pulse Investments gained 30 cents to settle at $4.90, in trading 2,510,192 shares. Scotia Group fell to $47.14, after losing $1.36 and exchanging 627,325 shares Seprod fell 50 cents to $55.50, with investors switching ownership of 177,004 shares, Supreme Ventures fell $1.50 to settle at $13, as investors swapped 795,566 shares. Sygnus Credit Investments lost 70 cents to close at $17.80, in trading 28,469 stock units and Wisynco Group shed 58 cents to close at $15.90, with 45,481 stock units passing through the market.
The top three stocks in each market saw no change in ranking for the top three Junior Market stocks, with the potential to gain between 295 to 709 percent by March 2021. Caribbean Producers heads the list, followed by Lasco Financial and Elite Diagnostic. The focus on all three is the 2021 fiscal year results, projected to show recovery from the 2020 financial year final numbers. The top three Main Market stocks, with expected gains of 205 to 231 percent, are Radio Jamaica, followed by Berger Paints and JMMB Group.
The targeted average PE ratio of the market is 20 based on the profits of companies reporting full year’s results, from now to the second quarter in 2021. Both the Junior Market and the Main Market are currently trading well below this level, indicating the potential gains ahead. The JSE Main Market ended the week, with an overall PE of 14.8 and the Junior Market 11.2, based on IC Insider.com’s projected 2020-21 earnings. The average PE ratio of the Junior Market has been slowly rising, with better profit opportunities than the Main Market and narrowing the gap. The PE ratio for the Junior Market Top 10 stocks average a mere six at just 54 percent to the average of the overall Junior Market. The Main Market TOP 10 stocks trade at a PE of 8.3 or 56 percent of the PE of the overall market.
The average projected gain for the Junior Market IC TOP 10 stocks is 280 percent, and 151 percent for the JSE Main Market, based on 2020-21 earnings, indicates potentially more significant gains in the Junior Market than in the Main Market.
The market closed with an exchange of 24,341,786 shares for $1,198,275,855 compared to 13,141,814 units at $242,747,146 on Thursday. Barita Investments led trading with 61.2 percent of total volume after 14.89 million shares changed hands, followed by Pulse Investments with 11.6 percent or 2.82 million units, Sagicor Select Financial Fund with 10.2 percent for 2.49 million units and Transjamaican Highway closing with 8.4 percent and 2.04 million shares.
JMMB Group closed at $29.50, with gains of 44 cents after exchanging 29,044 shares, Mayberry Investments rose 51 cents to $6, in trading 176,019 shares, NCB Financial Group shed 90 cents to finish at $132.10, with 5,816 stock units crossing the market. 138 Student Living lost 35 cents and end at $4.50, in trading 24,749 shares, Palace Amusement climbed $320 to end at $1,620 after exchanging just two units, PanJam Investment climbed $3.50 to $69.50, after 1,158 units changed hands, Portland JSX lost 50 cents to close at $7.50, in trading 89,998 shares. Proven Investments gained 45 cents to end at $38.45, with investors swapping 1,326 units, Pulse Investments fell to $4.60, after losing 38 cents and transferring 2,821,362 shares, Seprod rose 75 cents to close at $56, with an exchange of 5,490 stock units. Supreme Ventures gained 65 cents to settle at $14.50, with 442,677 shares crossing the exchange and Sygnus Credit Investments climbed $1.15 to settle at $18.50, after exchanging 38,902 stock units.
At the close, the All Jamaican Composite Index climbed 1,205.29 points to 407,251.72, the Main Index advanced by 1,208.99 points to 371,716.48 and the JSE Financial Index gained 0.27 points to settle at 97.07.
Trading ended with an average of 285,692 units changing hands at $5,277,112 for each security compared to an average of 701,992 shares at $3,552,326 on Wednesday. The average trade for the month to date ended at 248,972 units at $1,760,892 for each security, in contrast to 246,626 units at $1,536,244. Trading month to date compares adversely to August’s average of 497,441 units at $3,201,918.
Key Insurance rose 65 cents and ended at $8.25 with 4,880 stock units clearing the market. Mayberry Jamaican Equities carved out a gain of 90 cents to finish at $8.50, in trading 60,235 shares, NCB Financial Group fell $1.30 to $133, with 65,074 shares changing hands, 138 Student Living rose 35 cents to $4.85 trading 40 units, Palace Amusement declined by $224 to close at $1,300, after transferring ten stock units. PanJam Investment dropped $4.98 to $66, in trading 41,025 shares, Portland JSX lost 60 cents to settle at $8 trading a mere two units, Scotia Group rose $1.76 to end at $48.76, with 60,819 shares passing through the market and Seprod shed 74 cents to close at $55.25, in trading 19,961 shares.