The Jamaica Stock Exchange Main Market ended the past week, with up and down sharp movements. First Rock Real Estate Investments led the winners with a gain of 37.74 percent, while Pulse Investments led the losers, with a fall of 28.97 percent. Looking ahead, ICInsider.com forecasts gains of between 160 percent and 598 percent over the next twelve months, with an average projected gain of 378 percent for the IC TOP10 Main Market stocks, led by Berger Paints at 598 percent and followed by Margaritaville at 524 percent.
The ten winning stocks this week advanced between 5.97 percent to 37.74 percent, with real estate and insurance companies being prominent. The ten top losers fell between 5.53 percent and 28.97 percent. Financial service sector is heavily represented.
Among the winners, First Rock Real Estate Investments was well ahead of the field at 37.74 percent. followed by Mayberry Jamaican Equities with 20.12 percent. 138 Student Living is next with a rise of 14.46 percent and General Accident Insurance, 14.14 percent. The second half of the table was more modest. Sagicor Select Funds rose 9.30 percent, Sygnus Real Estate Finance 8.67 percent, Berger Paints 8.11 percent, Margaritaville 7.60 percent, Supreme Ventures 6.12 percent and Tropical Battery 5.97 percent. Real estate was a clear theme, with First Rock Real Estate Investments, 138 Student Living and Sygnus Real Estate Finance in the top six.
Declining stocks were heavier in financial and investment. Pulse Investments fell 28.97 percent, the steepest decline of the week, followed by VM Investments at 15 percent and QWI Investments at 11.76 percent. Radio Jamaica lost 10.57 percent and Barita Investments 10.37 percent.
The remaining five were the Palace Amusement at 9.09 percent, A.S. Bryden at 8.21 percent, Proven Investments at 7.43 percent, Mayberry Group at 6.95 percent and Massy Holdings at 5.53 percent. Six of the ten losers were investment or financial companies, which points to selling pressure in that segment. It is notable that Mayberry Jamaican Equities was among the biggest winners while its related company, Mayberry Group, was among the decliners.
The ICInsider.com forecast for the next twelve months is Bly bullish. Berger Paints is projected to gain 598 percent, followed by Margaritaville at 524 percent and Sygnus Capital at 510 percent, so the top three are all expected to exceed 500 percent. JMMB Group is forecast at 450 percent and QWI Investments at 433 percent. The next five are Iamaica Broilers at 379 percent, Palace Amusement at 300 percent, 138 Student Living at 223 percent, Lasco Distributors at 201 percent and Stanley Motta at 160 percent. Seven of the ten are projected to gain 300 percent or more, and even the lowest projection, for Stanley Motta, is 160 percent. The list mixes financial companies with consumer, property and manufacturing names, so the forecast is not tied to a single sector.
The forecast also overlaps with the past week’s movers. Berger Paints, Margaritaville and 138 Student Living were all winners this week, which suggests recent momentum is consistent with the ICInsider.com forecast. but, QWI Investments and Palace were both among the week’s losers, but are forecast to enjoy gains of 433 percent and 300 percent respectively. Investors may see this week’s declines in those two companies as a potential entry point, though forecasts of this size should be treated with caution given the volatility the Main Market showed this week.
At the close of the market, the JSE Combined Market Index popped 542.32 points to 331,302.79, the All Jamaican Composite Index sank 1,772.18 points to 354,602.80, the JSE Main Index slipped 9.30 points to finish at 318,607.35. The Junior Market Index jumped 77.82 points to close trading at 3,712.88 and the JSE USD Market Index dipped by just 0.13 points to 220.01.
There were no preference shares with notable price changes.
The net asset value of each company is reported as a guide for investors 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.
At the close of trading on Friday, the JSE Combined Market Index shed 1,100.91 points to close at 335,745.66, the All Jamaican Composite Index dropped 3,528.13 points to 359,937.89, the JSE Main Index lost 1,060.72 points and wrapped up trading at 322,697.93. The Junior Market Index fell 12.12 points to end at 3,780.14 and the JSE USD Market Index rose 4.38 points to 241.69.
In the Junior Market, One Great Studio led trading with 1.13 million shares followed by Dolla Financial with 727,676 units and Everything Fresh with 565,867 units.
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.
Since the start of the year, 

Demand has built and supplies shrank sharply and that should help move the price higher.
Investors plunked down $6 billion in more than twenty-one thousand five applications, to buy the 5 billion shares recently offered by 