Investors pushed the main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange to record highs on Monday and closing April at a record high after ending with 6 closing record highs, during the month.
The market that enjoyed several record closes during the month ended on Monday with 29 securities changing hands, resulting in 12,309,558 units valued at $246,771,642 trading leading to a rise in the market indices.
The main market closed with 13 securities rising, 8 declining and 8 trading firm, as the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index surged by 2,366.31 points to a record close of 328,893.09 and the JSE Index climbed 2,155.97 points to record 299,658.77.
In market activity, Barita Investments lost 50 cents and closed at $9.50, with 42,960 shares traded, Berger Paints jumped 95 cents to end at $20, with 103,899 stock units crossing the exchange’s platform, Carreras finished at $10.60, with 2,041,313 shares, Caribbean Cement fell 50 cents and settled at $37.50, with just 500 shares trading, Grace Kennedy traded at $49, with 80,953 stock units.
Jamaica Broilers finished trading at $21, with 2,612,575 units, Jamaica Producers closed at $16.99, with 55,324 shares, Jamaica Stock Exchange lost 5 cents and ended at $6.80, with 44,641 shares, JMMB Group concluded trading at $26.87, with 44,847 shares after slipping 11 cents. Kingston Wharves jumped $1.95 to close at $50, with 2,346 units, Mayberry Investments gained 18 cents and ended trading at $6.20, with 5,000 shares, NCB Financial Group traded at $97, with 44,744 shares, 1834 Investments added just 1 cents and finished trading at $1.16, with 13,000 shares. PanJam Investment ended 25 cents higher at $44, with 25,274 units, Portland JSX lost 40 cents and concluded trading at $10, with 15,830 shares, Pulse Investments slipped 1 cent and finished at $1.78, with 9,000 shares, Radio Jamaica rose 2 cents and settled at $1.07, with 33,090 shares. Sagicor Group ended trading at $37.60, with 1,073,450 stock units and Sagicor Real Estate Fund rose 30 to $15.30, with 17,936 stock units. 
Scotia Group finished trading at $50, with 608,581 shares traded, Seprod rose 76 cents and concluded trading at $34.99, with 2,700 stock units, Supreme Ventures gained 13 cents and settled at $11.70, with 1,089,028 shares. Victoria Mutual Investments gained 5 cents and ended trading at $4.25, with 194,155 shares, Wisynco Group traded with a gain of 16 cents at $10.85, with 1,382,174 shares. In the main market preference segment, Jamaica Money Market 7.25% lost 5 cents and ended trading at $2.50, with 1,800 shares, Jamaica Money Market7.5% traded at $1.92, with 2,138 stock units, JMMBC 7.25% ended rose 10 cents to $2.10, with 50,000 shares, Proven Investments 8.25% rose 90 cent and closed at $5.90, with 712,300 stock units changing hands.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place. For more details of market activities, see “JSE main market trades at record high – Monday.”
Grace & FosRich in TOP 10 stocks
Grace Kennedy is in TOP 10
Out go Palace Amusement and Lasco Financial, in comes Grace Kennedy and FosRich Group into the TOP 10 listings this week.
Lasco Financial climbed to $5.65 at the end of last week while the bid on Palace climbed to $1,000 thus leaving room for Grace Kennedy and FosRich that fell to $2.35, to enter, in a week that saw the main market trading in record territory and the Junior Market recording gains in the index for the week.
The next two weeks should set the tone for the market in the medium term as most companies will be releasing results for the March quarter. Based on early releases, only a handful of results have positive effect on prices. 
The latest results from Supreme Ventures with a 49 percent rise in the first quarter profit seems set to push the price higher.
Investors responded positively to Berger Paints prospects, with active supply below $20 per share having declined sharply, leaving the price to close the week at $19.
Buying continued for Barita Investments with the price hitting $10 during the week. JMMB Group pulled back by the end of the week to $26.98 from $28.32, as the block out period for insiders to trade in the stock is in place until full year results are out. 
Resistance for the stock price is just over $31 an area investors should be on the lookout for, in the short run. Caribbean Cement first quarter profit was slightly down on last year, but the company is set to do better in the June quarter with the buyout of the expensive lease of equipment and prospects of lower operating cost, with the major repairs behind them and increasing demand for cement likely, ahead of the 6 percent growth in the first quarter. The stock may remain around current price levels for a while. Iron Rock reported vastly improved results for first quarter and appears to be on the way to their first profit since listing. The stock climbed to $3.50, following release of the results.
At the close of Friday, the average PE ratio for Junior Market Top stocks ended at 6.1 compared to an average PE for the overall main market of 10 based on 2018 estimated earnings. 
The main market PE is 7.2 for the top stocks, compared to a market average of 13.
IC Insider.com’s TOP 10 stocks now trade at an average discount of 39 percent to the average for the Junior Market Top stocks but it’s a third of what the average PE for the year is likely to be of 20 times earnings and main market stocks traded at a discount of 43 percent to the market.
Trading elevated on JSE main market – Friday
Bulls may be lurching to pounce on Jamaican stocks.
Trading on the Main Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Friday ended with 24 securities changing hands, resulting in 22,131,577 units valued at $314,568,605 trading leading to a rise in the market indices.
The main market closed with 9 securities rising, 8 declining and 7 trading firm, as the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index increased by 727.45 points to 326,526.78 and the JSE Index advanced 662.79 points to close at 297,502.80.
In market activity, Barita Investments lost 25 cents and closed at $10, with 11,890 shares, Berger Paints ended at $19.05, with 25,531 stock units, Carreras concluded trading at $10.60, with 415,364 units, after rising 25 cents, Caribbean Cement lost 1 cents and finished at $37.99, with 7,555 shares, Ciboney Group fell 3 cents to 10 cents with 7,063,873 shares trading. Grace Kennedy ended trading at $49, with 32,450 shares, 
Jamaica Broilers traded with a rise of 50 cents at $21, exchanging 44,397 stock units, Jamaica Producers climbed 49 cents and finished trading 8,514 units at $16.99, Jamaica Stock Exchange closed at $6.85, with 51,818 shares. JMMB Group gained 48 cents and ended at $26.98, with 77,600 shares, Kingston Properties spiked $1.39 to conclude trading at $6.64, with just 840 shares, Kingston Wharves finished with a fall of $1.45 to $48.05, trading 100,791 stock units, Mayberry Investments settled at $6.02, with 82,641 units changing hands. NCB Financial Group ended trading with a rise of $2 to $97, with 92,006 shares, with investors responding positively to the six months results. Portland JSX jumped $1.89 and ended at $10.40, with 82,924 units after the company posted a profit for 2018. 
Pulse Investments concluded trading at $1.79, with 1,085 shares, Sagicor Group settled at $37.60, with a rise of 10 cents after 4,907,816 shares traded and Sagicor Real Estate Fund settled at $15, with 20,000 shares. Scotia Group lost 50 cents to trade at $50, with 202,000 units, Seprod fell 77 cents and finished trading at $34.23, with 58,738 shares, Supreme Ventures lost 18 cents and ended at $11.57, with 297,625 shares, Victoria Mutual Investments concluded trading at $4.20, after losing 10 cents with 227,874 stock units and Wisynco Group finished at $10.69, up 19 cents with 8,307,655 units changing hands. In the main market preference segment, JMMB Group 7.5% finished at 99 cents, with 10,590 stock units changing hands.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place. For more details of market activities, see “JSE main market climbs on Friday.”
JSE main market volume remains elevated – Thursday
Trading on the Main Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Thursday as 24 securities changed hands, resulting in 6,955,242 units valued at $271,269,169 trading.
The main market closed with just 5 securities rising, 11 declining and 8 trading firm, leading to the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index increased by 96.51 points to 325,799.33 and the JSE Index advanced by 87.93 points to 296,840.01.
In market activity, Berger Paints gained 5 cents to end at $19.05, with 74,992 stock units, Carreras concluded trading with a loss of 40 cents at $10.60, in the trading of 476,294 units, Caribbean Cement lost 51 cents and finished at $38, with 213,889 shares, Ciboney Group gained 1 cent to end at 13 cents with 1,630,930 shares trading. Grace Kennedy ended trading at $49, after gaining 50 cents with 24,964 shares, Jamaica Broilers traded with a fall of 50 cents at $20.50, exchanging 4,898 stock units, Jamaica Producers finished trading 6,648 units at $16.50, Jamaica Stock Exchange lost 5 cents and closed at $6.85, trading just 100 shares. 
JMMB Group fell 75 cents and ended at $26.50, with 120,688 shares, Kingston Wharves jumped of $3.50 to $49.50, trading 3,418 stock units, Mayberry Investments settled for a fall of 3 cents at $6.02, with 17,367 units changing hands. NCB Financial Group ended trading with a fall of $1.50 to $95, with 2,259,648 shares, PanJam Investment lost 25 cents in exchanging 190,902 shares at $43.75. Radio Jamaica ended with 10,077 shares trading at $1.05, Sagicor Group settled at $37.50, after 33,966 shares traded and Sagicor Real Estate Fund settled at $15, with 1,000 shares. Salada Foods traded 30,900 shares at $11.20, 
Scotia Group lost $1.49, to trade at $50.50, with 69,878 units, Supreme Ventures ended at $11.57, with 44,591 shares, Victoria Mutual Investments concluded trading at $4.30, after rising 24 cents with 130,176 stock units and Wisynco Group finished at $10.50, down 40 cents with 1,609,916 units changing hands. In the main market preference segment, Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.25% traded a mere 300 units at $2.55, while Productivity Solutions 9.75% traded 350 units at $105 and Proven Investments 8.25% finished at $5, with 1,079,574 stock units changing hands.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place. For more details of market activities, see “JSE main market ekes out modest rise – Thursday.”
JSE main market trading elevated – Wednesday
Trading on the Main Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Wednesday as 26 securities changed hands, resulting in 14,655,576 units valued at $227,353,346 trading.
The main market closed with 11 securities rising, 11 declining and 4 trading firm, leading to the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index falling 1,060.23 points to 325,702.82 and the JSE Index declined by 965.99 points to 296,752.08.
In market activity, Barita Investments closed at $10.25, with 1,025 shares, after adding 25 cents, Berger Paints lost 10 cents and ended at $19, with 10,656 stock units, Carreras fell 5 cents and concluded trading at $10.75, with 4,337,080 units, Caribbean Cement jumped $1.51 and finished at $38.51, with 66,979 shares, Ciboney Group declined by 2 cents and settled at 12 cents, with 2,161,849 units. 
Grace Kennedy ended trading with a loss of 51 cents at $48.50, with 35,620 shares, Jamaica Broilers gained 90 cents in traded 14,955 stock units to end at $21, Jamaica Producers finished trading at $16.50, with 1,044,013 units, Jamaica Stock Exchange lost 10 cent and closed at $6.90, with 1,260 shares. JMMB Group dropped $1.08, ending at $27.25, with 170,021 shares, Kingston Wharves dropped $3 and finished at $46, with 15,000 stock units, Mayberry Investments settled at $6.05, for a rise of 3 cents, with 108,012 units, NCB Financial Group climbed $1.40 to $96.50, with 46,142 shares. 1834 Investments closed trading at $1.15, with 81,945 shares, PanJam Investment lost 1 cent and closed at $44, with 72,100 stock units, Pulse Investments concluded trading at $1.79, after falling 1 cent with 108,000 shares, 
Sagicor Group fell 49 cents and settled at $37.50, with 25,985 shares and Sagicor Real Estate Fund settled at $15, with a rise of 99 cents trading 17,835 shares. Salada Foods gained 5 cents and ended trading at $11.20, with 43,684 stock units, Scotia Group jumped $1.79 to $51.99, with 1,959,155 units, Seprod climbed $1 and finished trading at $35, with 25,820 shares, Supreme Ventures ended at $11.75, up 5 cents with 527,887 shares. Victoria Mutual Investments concluded trading at $4.06, after rising 31 cents with 357,576 stock units and Wisynco Group finished at $10.90, with 3,412,434 units changing hands. In the main market preference segment, Jamaica Money Market 7.5% traded 2,138 stock units at $1.92 and JMMB Group closed at 99 cents, with 8,405 shares changing hands.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place. For more details of market activities, see “JSE main market retreats on Wednesday.”
JSE main market falls – Tuesday
Wisynco, traded the most shares on tuesday.
Stocks closed lower on the Jamaica Stock Exchange main market on Tuesday with the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index falling by 831.65 points to 326,763.05 and the JSE Index declined 757.73 points to 297,718.07.
At the close, 27 securities traded, compared to 24 on Monday and ended with the prices of 9 stocks rising, 8 falling and 10 trading firm, in the main and US dollar markets.
At the close of trading, Jamaica Producers ended with a loss of 99 cents to $16, JMMB Group rose $1.11 to $28.33, as some buying came into the market for the stock. NCB Financial dropped $1.90 to $95.10, Sagicor Group rose $1.14 to $37.99, Sagicor Real Estate Fund lost 99 cent to $14.01 and Scotia Group declined $1.30 to $50.20 and Seprod rose 99 cents to $34.
Main market activity ended with 10,843,662 units valued at $263,546,997 compared to 3,603,029 units valued at $73,318,401 on Monday. 
At the close of trading, Wisynco Group closed with 2,509,633 units changing hands and accounting for 23.14 percent of the volume traded, Jamaica Broilers Group ended with 1,888,250 units or 17.4 percent of the volume and Carreras with 1,714,181 units accounted for 15.8 percent of the day’s volume. Also trading over a million units are Supreme Ventures with 1,094,984 units and Scotia Group with 1,029,931 shares.
Trading resulted in an average of 401,617 units valued at an average of $9,761,000 for each security traded. In contrast to 156,653 units valued at an average of $3,187,757 on Monday. The average for the month to date is 747,221 shares with a value of $4,720,546 and previously 770,204 shares valued $4,361,464. In contrast, March closed with an average of 626,526 units with an average value at $20,492,207 for each security traded.
There was no trading in the US dollar market leaving the Market index at 172.17.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows7 stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and 3 with a lower offers.
For more details of market activities see – JSE trading picks up on Tuesday.
New JSE record on limited volume
Trading levels rose on the Main Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Monday but remained moderate with an average of only 156,653 units valued at $3,187,757 for each security trading.
At the close of trading, 23 securities changed hands, resulting in 6,877,671 units valued at $68,979,399 trading, up sharply from the 2,507,681 units valued at only $38,468,870 on Friday.
The main market closed with 9 securities rising, 7 declining and 7 trading firm, leading to the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index increasing by 1,415.92 points to end at a record close of 327,594.70 and the JSE Index rising 1,290.06 points to a new closing record of 298,475.80.
In market activity, Barita Investments closed at $9.50, with 33,268 shares, Berger Paints rose 10 cents and ended at $19.10, with 4,237 stock units, Carreras concluded trading at $10.90, with 1,171,484 units, Caribbean Cement finished at $36.50, with 64,512 shares, Grace Kennedy rose 65 cents and ended trading at $49.65, with 6,186 shares. Jamaica Broilers rose 45 cents to $20.50, with 570,105 stock units, Jamaica Producers ended with a rise of 99 cents at $16.99, with 12,676 units, Jamaica Stock Exchange rose 2 cents and closed at $6.52, with 2,350 shares, JMMB Group lost $1.10 to closed at $27.22, as some selling came into the market for the stock, and ended with 1,208,947 shares changing hands. Kingston Wharves lost 5 cents and finished at $49.95, with 2,471 stock units after it traded at an intraday high of $51, Mayberry Investments settled at $6.05, with 20,200 units, NCB Financial Group rose $1 and ended trading at $97, with 76,990 shares, 1834 Investments lost 5 cents, to end at $1.15, trading 18,055 shares. 
PanJam Investment rose $1.45 to $44.45 trading 2,522 stock units, Sagicor Group settled at $36.85, with 15,203 shares and Sagicor Real Estate Fund gained 99 cents to end at $15, with 6,365 shares. Scotia Group climbed $1.34 to $51.50, with 30,645 units, Seprod finished trading at $33.01, with 427 shares, Supreme Ventures fell 5 cents and ended at $11.70, with 36,109 shares, Victoria Mutual Investments concluded trading at $4.21, after slipping 4 cents with 218,181 stock units, Wisynco Group fell 9 cents and finished at $10.90, with 95,232 units. In the main market preference segment, Jamaica Money Market 7.25% ended trading at $2.55, with 500 shares and Jamaica Money Market 7.5% traded at $1.92, with 6,364 stock units, changing hands.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place. For more details of market activities, see “JSE main market hits new record – Monday.”
Kingston Wharves pushes JSE to new record.
Kingston Wharves jumped $5 to a record close at $50 on Friday.
Kingston Wharves jumped $5 and ended at a record high of $50 on modest volume and helped to push the market to new highs on Friday. On Tuesday, the price jumped $5, to the then new high of $45.
Scarcity seems the main factor behind the sharp rally in so short a time frame with 94 percent of the 1.347 billion shares held by the top 10 shareholders. Kingston Wharves close trading with the bid to buy 1,400 units at $50 and no stock being offered. This stock is ideal for a split with more than the relatively high price and limited supply.
Trading levels rose on the Main Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Friday but remained moderate with an average of only 264,526 shares valued at $2,653,054 each trading.
At the close 26 securities changed hands, resulting in 6,877,671 units valued at $68,979,399 trading compared to 2,507,681 units valued at $38,468,870 on Thursday.
The main market closed with 9 securities rising, 9 declining and 8 trading firm, leading to the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index increasing by 1,200.80 points to end at a record close of 326,178.78 and the JSE Index rising 1,094.07 points to a new closing record of 297,185.74.
In market activity, Barita Investments closed at $9.50, with 100,889 shares, Berger Paints ended at $19, with 101,218 stock units, Carreras concluded trading at $10.90, with 214,871 units, Caribbean Cement finished at $36.50, with 28,334 shares, Ciboney Group rose 1 cents and settled at 13 cents, trading 3,042,400 shares. Grace Kennedy ended trading at $49, with 17,235 shares, Jamaica Broilers fell 40 cents to close at $20.05, trading 4,327 stock units, Jamaica Producers climbed 90 cents and finished trading at $16, with 1,958,288 units, Jamaica Stock Exchange fell 48 cents and closed at $6.50, with 30,000 shares. JMMB Group ended at $28.32, after gaining 32 cents with 181,452 shares trading, Kingston Wharves jumped $5 and finished at $50, with an exchange of 3,200 stock units, 
Mayberry Investments settled with a gain of 5 cents at $6.05, with 72,493 units, NCB Financial Group fell 25 cents and ended trading at $96, with 79,768 shares. 1834 Investments traded with a gain of 13 cents at $1.20, with 128,014 shares, PanJam Investment climbed 60 cents and closed at $43, with 55,875 stock units, Pulse Investments concluded trading at $1.80, with 59,400 shares, Radio Jamaica rose 5 cents finished at $1.10, with 251,100 shares. Sagicor Group settled dropped 65 cents and landed at $36.85, with 14,377 shares and Sagicor Real Estate Fund lost 99 cents to settled at $14.01, with 3,000 shares changing hands. Salada Foods fell 5 cents to $11.15, with 400 stock units, Scotia Group lost $1.84 to $50.16, with 187,520 units trading, Seprod finished trading with a loss of 99 cents at $33.01, after trading 942 shares. Sterling Investments closed at $13.89, with 1,000 shares, Supreme Ventures ended at $11.75, with 19,400 shares, Victoria Mutual Investments concluded trading at $4.25, with a loss of 13 cents in exchanging 38,035 stock units and Wisynco Group rose 49 cents and finished at $10.99, with 284,133 units changing hands.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place. For more details of market activities, see “New record close for JSE – Friday.”
Big gains again for JSE stocks – Thursday
There was just modest volume trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange main market on Thursday with the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index jumped 2,036.04 points to 324,977.98 and the JSE Index advanced by 1,855.07 points to 296,091.67.
At the close, 25 securities traded, compared to 24 on Wednesday and ended with the prices of 8 stocks rising, 4 falling and 13 trading firm, in the main and US dollar markets. Price changes were mostly moderate, with none exceeding 60 cents at the close of trading.
Main market activity ended with 2,487,721 units valued at $38,468,870 changing hands, compared to 4,971,238 units valued at $81,421,271 on Wednesday. At the close of trading Supreme Ventures closed with the largest volume of 532,107 units, amounting to 21 percent of the overall volume traded, followed by Wisynco Group with 477,649 shares or 19 percent of the volume traded.
Trading resulted in an average of 108,162 units valued at an average of $1,672,560 for each security traded. In contrast to 216,141 units for an average of $3,540,055 on Wednesday. The average for the month to date is 846,561 shares with a value of $4,577,870 and previously 897,409 shares with a value of $4,795,531. In contrast, March closed with an average of 626,526 units with an average value at $20,492,207 for each security traded.
The US dollar market closed on Thursday with 19,960 shares trading valued at US$11,700. JMMB Group 6% preference share ended concluded trading at US$1 with 9,260 stock units and Proven Investments finished trading after adding 3 US cents to end at 23 US cents after trading 10,700 shares. Trading ended with a rise of 9.8 points in the market index to 175.95.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 8 stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and 5 with a lower offers.
For more details of market activities see – JSE volume jumps value falls – Thursday.
JSE volume jumps value falls – Thursday
Trading volumes rose but the total sum traded declined on the Main Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Thursday with 4,971,238 units valued at $81,421,271 changing hands compared to 3,313,428 units valued at $132,584,977 on Wednesday.
The main market closed with just 23 securities changing hands, of which 16 rose, 4 declined and 3 traded firm leading to the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index surged 2,036.04 points to 324,977.98 and the JSE Index jumped 1,855.07 points to 296,091.67.
In market activity, Barita Investments closed at $9.50, with 2,000 shares trading, Berger Paints fell 22 cents and ended at $19, with 78,805 stock units, Carreras concluded trading at $10.90, with 363,060 units, Caribbean Cement finished at $36.50, with 18,529 shares, Ciboney Group rose 1 cent to close at 12 cents, with 290,000 shares. Grace Kennedy gained 51 cents and ended trading at $49, with 17,135 shares, Jamaica Broilers traded 18,625 units and gained 25 cents to close at $20.45, Jamaica Producers finished trading at $15.10, with 36,245 units but lost 60 cents in the process, Jamaica Stock Exchange closed at $6.98, with 5,500 shares. JMMB Group ended at $28, with 204,808 shares, Kingston Wharves finished at $45, trading 27,949 stock units, Mayberry Investments settled at $6, with 78,629 units, NCB Financial Group rose by 26 cents and ended trading at $96.25, with 97,448 shares. 
PanJam Investment lost 60 cents and closed at $42, with 5,000 stock units, Radio Jamaica finished with a fall of 5 cents at $1.05, exchanging 50,000 shares. Sagicor Group settled at $37.50, with 28,720 shares and Sagicor Real Estate Fund climbed 50 cents to $15, with 10,344 shares. Scotia Group traded at $52, trading 9,220 units, Seprod finished trading at $34, with 3,735 shares, Supreme Ventures ended at $11.75, with a rise of 5 cents, trading 532,107 shares, Victoria Mutual Investments gained 13 cents and concluded trading at $4.38, with 124,747 stock units and Wisynco Group finished trading at $10.50, with 477,649 units changing hands.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place. For more details of market activities, see “Big gains for JSE stocks again – Thursday.”