2 days of strong JSE main market gains end

February 12, 2019 by

Radio Jamaica traded more than 4 million shares as the compnay posted strong gains in profit in the December quarter.

Trading on the main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange ended on Tuesday with the market snapping two days of solid gains in the market indices and ending with big declines even as advancing stocks were more than declining ones.
At the close of trading, the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index dropped by 2,837.49 points to 410,601.55 and the JSE Index dived by 2,582.48 points to 374,108.12.
The main and US markets traded a total of 34 securities, compared to 33 securities trading on Monday, with the prices of 16 rising, 11 declining and 7 remaining unchanged. Three stocks traded at new highs during the trading session but only two ended at a new closing high and one closed at a 52 weeks’ low.
Main market activity ended with, 9,605,896 units valued at $71,284,670 compared to 3,396,161 units valued at $104,302,598 changing hands, on Monday.
Radio Jamaica led trading with 4,707,436 shares for 49 percent of the day’s volume, after the company posted strong gains in profit in the December quarter of $168 million versus $79 million in the similar period in 2017. JMMB Group 6% preference share was next with 1,799,538 shares and accounting for 18.7 percent of the total main market volume changing hands and 1834 Investments with 705,080 shares, for 7 percent of the day’s volume.
IC bid-offer Indicator|The Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator ended with the reading showing 15 stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and 2 closing with lower offers.
An average of 300,184 units valued at an average of $2,227,646 compared to 106,130 units valued at an average of $3,259,456 for each security traded, on Monday. The average volume and value for the month to date, amounts to 321,224 shares with a value of $10,240,490 and previously, 324,089 shares with a value of $11,497,407. Trading for January resulted in an average of 101,980 units, valued at $3,042,494, for each security traded.
In main market activity, Berger Paints lost 50 cents and ended at $19.50, with an exchange of 6,803 stock units, Grace Kennedy traded with 88,962 stock units and lost 34 cents to end at $57.66, Jamaica Producers regained 50 cents to close at $23 in trading 6,008 shares. Jamaica Stock Exchange gained $1 and closed trading with 36,189 units changing hands, at a record close of $16, JMMB Group rose 65 cents and concluded trading 18,827 shares at $32.75, Kingston Wharves dropped $2 and settled at $70, with 44,616 units changing hands, 138 Student Living rose 49 cents and finished trading 1,199 shares at $4.01. PanJam Investment  jumped $2.99 and ended at a 52 weeks’ closing high of $78, trading 6,262 units, Sagicor Group  lost 35 cents and ended trading at $38.50, with 39,275 stock units, Salada Foods traded just 700 units, but lost 50 cents to close at $38, Scotia Group  dropped $1.89 to finish trading 195,910 shares at $51.11. Seprod climbed $2.50 to finish trading of 695,712 shares at $39, Stanley Motta  rose 30 cents to end at $5, with an exchange of 5,000 shares, Supreme Ventures rose 35 cents and finished trading of 12,668 units at $19.35. Sygnus Credit Investments rose 75 cents to end at $11 with an exchange of 16,550 shares and Victoria Mutual Investments lost 30 cents to settle at $3.70, with 236,520 shares changing hands.
Trading in the US dollar market resulted in 99,033 units valued at over $11,543 changing hands. Proven Investments traded 6,633 units to close at 22 US cents and Sygnus Credit Investments rose by 2 cents in exchanging of 92,400 shares at 11 US cents. The JSE USD Equities Index advanced by 6.87 points to close at 170.75.

Filed Under: Feature Stories, JSE Main Market, Stock Market Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

More gains for JSE main market – Monday

February 11, 2019 by

Barita Investments dominated trading with 1.1 milliobn shares changing hands.

The main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange closed on Monday with a second day of strong gains in the market indices with the prices of 16 rising, 13 declining and 4 remaining unchanged.
The JSE All Jamaican Composite Index jumped 3,028.23 points to close at 413,439.04 and the JSE Index climbed 2,756.09 points to close at 376,690.60 after both rose by more than 2,944 points on Friday.
Importantly, NCB financial that played a big role in many of the big movements in recent months had little impact in Mondays move and suggesting that investors’ interest is more broad-based now than a few weeks ago.
The main and US markets traded a total of 33 securities, compared to 31 securities trading on Friday.
Main market activity ended with, 3,396,161 units valued at $104,302,598 changing hands, in contrast to 7,016,682 units valued at $207,252,597, on Friday.
Barita Investments led trading with 1,113,243 units for 33 percent of the day’s volume, followed by Wisynco Group with 628,630 shares and accounting for 19 percent of the total main market volume changing hands and Seprod with 443,979 stock units for 13 percent of the day’s volume.
IC bid-offer Indicator|The Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator ended with the reading showing 10 stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and 2 closing with lower offers.
An average of 106,130 units valued at an average of $3,259,456 for each security traded, in contrast to 241,955 units valued at an average of $7,146,641 on Friday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 324,089 shares with a value of $11,497,407 and previously, 358,447 units valued $13,030,049. Trading for January resulted in an average of 101,980 units, valued at $3,042,494, for each security traded.
In main market activity, Barita Investments surprisingly, added 51 cents to close at $50.01, with the trading a large volume of 1,113,243 shares up to $52. Berger Paints gained 50 cents and ended at $20, with an exchange of a mere 100 stock units, Caribbean Cement rose 90 cents in trading 1,500 shares at $43, Jamaica Broilers climbed 50 cents in trading of 51,600 units, to close at 52 weeks’ closing high of $33.50. Jamaica Producers lost 50 cents to close at $22.50 and trading 6,000 shares, Jamaica Stock Exchange gained $1 and closed trading with 34,786 units changing hands, at a record close of $15, JMMB Group fell 70 cents concluded trading at $32.10, with 57,512 shares. Kingston Wharves rose $3.48 cents and settled at $72, with 6,449 units changing hands, Pulse Investments traded 2,000 units and lost 50 cents to close at $2.70, Salada Foods traded 10,860 units, but lost 50 cents to close at $38.50. Seprod rose $1.65 to finish trading of 443,979 shares at $36.50, Supreme Ventures lost 80 cents and finished trading 42,611 units at $19 and Sygnus Credit Investments lost 90 cents to end at $10.25 with an exchange of 49,018 shares.
Trading in the US dollar market resulted in 54,933 units valued at $57,130 changing hands as the sole stock trading, JMMB Group 6% preference share, lost 2 cents and concluded trading with 54,933 units at US$1.04. The JSE USD Equities Index closed at 163.88.

Filed Under: Feature Stories, JSE Main Market, Stock Market Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Cement & General Accident top IC Top 10

February 11, 2019 by

IC Insider.com TOP 10 selections return after a break. The selections, are based on 2019 earnings. Quite a number of the 2018 TOP 10 listings appear again in this year’s lists.
New to the Junior Market, are Fontana that was listed in December last year, Lasco Manufacturing, ISP Finance and Medical Disposables. New to the TOP 10 main market list are Caribbean Cement, Sterling Investments, Radio Jamaica and Sygnus Credit Investments.
The three leading Junior Market stocks are General Accident, with potential gains of 310 percent, Stationery and Office Supplies 284 percent and ISP Finance with 250 percent.
The three leading main market stocks are, Caribbean Cement with likely gains of 152 percent, Radio Jamaica, 150 percent and Victoria Mutual investments 147 percent.
Fontana, is projected by IC Insider.com, to earn at 50 cents per share for the current year and should go on to boost earnings for the June 2020 much higher with the opening of its newest branch this year. The prospects for the stock is very good over the next two to three years with the expansion plans that the company has for it. Lasco Manufacturing’s profit for the December quarter was effectively flat at $197 million but is up a strong 32 percent for nine months period. With EPS at 17 cents for the year, to December, full year results could hit 25 cents per share with 2020 moving higher as new product lines deliver more sales and profit. ISP Finance has been gradually building the loan portfolio and reporting improved annual profits but investment in increased staffing to manage expansion has increased cost faster than growth in revenues. The company exhausted the cash on hand in 2018 and borrowed additional funds to expand their loan portfolio. 2019 should be the year that profit break out and justify the current stock price. Medical Disposables delivered improved results in the six months to September last year with increased revenues coming from the new consumer lines that have been added to the product range.
In the main market, the way seems clear for Caribbean Cement to break out this year with the plant upgrade now behind them and the discontinuation of costly import of cement to fill the gap left by lower production as the plant upgrade took place in 2018. The company will benefit from increased sales as the construction sector continues to grow and demand more cement to use in building. Sterling Investments’ share has been undervalued for sometime and remains so, even after a 5 for 1 stock split in late 2018 that help move the price up. Additional funds from a recent rights issue will place the company in a position to take advantage of other investment opportunities and boost profit. Radio Jamaica has not delivered on the improved profitability after merging with the Gleaner but with income showing some growth against an improving economy, the 2020 fiscal year could start showing improved results. Sygnus Credit Investments is an undervalued stock with earnings to the September quarter negatively affected by the slippage in the rate of exchange of the local currency. Exchange movements does not affect the underlying fundamentals of the company going forward.
The main market closed the week with the overall PE at 13 and the Junior Market at 10. The PE ratio for Junior Market Top 10 stocks average 6.1 and the main market PE is now 8.2.
The 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. The main market stocks trade at a discount of 37 percent to the overall market.
TOP 10 stocks are likely to deliver the best returns within a 12 months period. Stocks are selected based on projected earnings for each company’s current fiscal year. Based on an assumed PE for each, the likely gains are determined and then ranked, with the stocks with the highest potential gains ranked first followed by the rest, in descending order. Potential 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 based on new information received that can result in changes in and out of the list as well.

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Compelling case to watch Fontana & Wisynco

February 10, 2019 by

Fontana Waterloo Road branch now nearing completion.

Two compelling buys this week that investors should be watching over the next few weeks, are Fontana in the Junior Market and Wisynco in the main market of Jamaica Stock Exchange.
Last week, the results of a few companies were released, but only the results of Wisynco, had the potency to move the stock price, without much delay. More companies will release quarterly reports this week and they are worth watching.
Wisynco reported strong half-year results to December and encountered good buying interest on Friday with nearly 2.7 million shares trading, with little price movement. Trading on Friday may have removed quite a bit of supply to help pave the way for an inevitable price rise at some point in time. The company is yet to reap the full benefit from the new production lines they installed last year and effective providing room for greater profit margin. In addition, they added sugar distribution to the product line up starting in January this year. The company is ripe to add more products for distribution could well add new brands to the lineup that will boost revenues and profit if that happens.  At current price of $10.40 and with a strong increase 36 percent in profits for the December quarter, investors with limited inventory of the stock would be unwise not to add it to their portfolios.

Wisynco could enjoy much increased revenues going forward as new products as added to the line up.

The recent quarterly report of AMG Packaging showed a big improvement of 68 percent in profit to $16.1 million, resulted in garnering increased buying interest around the $2.50 level. The price could move higher with sellers trying to get out around $2.70 level.
Elite Diagnostic rose in price this past week with increased buying interest and may go higher in the coming weeks as the quarterly results for December should show a big improvement over the $1.8 million profit reported in the first quarter to September and point to a much brighter future for this expanding entity.
PanJam Investment has limited supply of the stock offered on the market currently. At the close on Friday, just 79,000 units were shown on the JSE trading platform for sale compared, to 781,000 on the buy side. The lowest offer was 51,000 units at $80. It will be interesting to see what will happen with the price during the week.
Demand for Fontana shares is gradually eating away at supply of the stock with the price closing at $3.60, on Friday. The bid closed at $3.60 on Friday and the price could move higher during the week.  With IC Insider.com projected earnings for the current year at 50 cents per share and the opening of its latest branch this year, the stock has lots of potential gains ahead of it.
General Accident enjoyed lower demand in the past week with the price slipping from $4 to $3.90. The stock is a big value play with the 2018 results likely to come out in the region of 45 cents per share and 2019 even higher and provide solid incentive for the buyers to pick up the stock. Interim results for the full year, are expected to be released this week. Jamaica Stock Exchange shares hit a new high of $14, during the past week, with increasing interest shown in the stock. Exposed supply is currently not high, with expected continued buoyancy in

Seprod shares now trades at $34.85 each.


the market and a big increase in new listings this year, investors seem more aggressive to buy into what should be another year of increased profit for the company. Seprod price moved up to $34.85 with increased demand for the shares continuing against the background of declining supply. The price seems poised to move even higher in the coming weeks as the stock remains attractively priced.
Lasco Manufacturing’s profit for the December quarter was effectively flat at $197 million but is up 32 percent for nine months period. With EPS at 17 cents for the year, to December, there was little fire power to move the stock price during the week. The same is true for Lasco Distributors, with a 24 percent rise in profit to $157 million for the December quarter and 16 percent increase for the nine months to December, to $620 or 18 cents per share. Lasco Manufacturing with EPS close to Lasco Distributors should really see the stock price moving closer to the latter than the $3.10 it closed at on Friday.
NCB Financial remains on the Watch List with strong gains in operating profit for the December quarter, but the stock is finding it hard to break through resistance at the $150 level and may need something out of the ordinary if the price is to move decidedly higher before the summer months.
Barita Investments is worth watching but with the price falling, having gone ex rights during the past week.

Filed Under: Stock Market, Stocks to watch Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

JSE main market bounces – Friday

February 8, 2019 by

The main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange enjoyed increased trading levels at the close on Friday over Thursday’s improved levels, leading the JSE All Jamaican Composite Index to jump 3,235.32 points to 410,410.81 and the JSE Index climbing by 2,944.56 points to 373,934.51.
Main market activity ended with, 7,016,682 units valued at $207,252,597 changing hands, in contrast with 4,986,769 units valued at $74,552,633, on Thursday.
The main and US markets traded a total of 33 securities, with prices of 13 rising, 9 declining with 9 remaining unchanged, compared to 31 securities trading on Thursday.
Wisynco Group led trading with 2,688,897 units for 38 percent of the day’s volume, followed by Grace Kennedy, with 1,521,787 shares and accounting for 22 percent of the total main market volume changing hands and Sygnus Credit with 543,056 stock units for 8 percent of the day’s volume.
IC bid-offer Indicator|The Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator ended with the reading showing 6 stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and 5 closing with lower offers.
An average of 241,955 units valued at an average of $7,146,641 for each security traded. In contrast to 184,695 units for an average of $2,761,209 on Thursday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 358,447 units valued $13,030,049 and previously, 523,805 units valued $16,891,062. Trading for January resulted in an average of 101,980 units, valued at $3,042,494, for each security traded.
In main market activity, Berger Paints lost $1.50 and ended at $19.50, with an exchange of 5,153 stock units, Jamaica Broilers climbed $4 in trading of 58,277 units, to close at $33, Jamaica Producers gained $1 to close at $23, trading 17,568 shares. Jamaica Stock Exchange closed trading with 81,864 units changing hands, with a rise of 5 cents to a record close of $14, Kingston Wharves lost 38 cents and settled at $68.52, with 266,720 units changing hands. Proven Investments traded 3,000 units and rose 50 cents to close at $27.50, Sagicor Group rose 25 cents in trading 25,424 stock units, to close at $38.80, Scotia Group fell 99 cents and finished trading of 489,552 shares at $53 and Sygnus Credit Investments lost 45 cents to end at $11.15 with an exchange of 543,056 shares.
Trading in the US dollar market resulted in 52,812 units valued at over $10,639 changing hands. JMMB Group 6% preference share concluded trading at $1.06 with 218 units, JMMB Group 5.75% preference share closed at $2 trading 2,114 shares, Proven Investments traded 14,180 units to close at 22 US cents and Sygnus Credit Investments exchanged of 36,300 shares at 9 US cents. The JSE USD Equities Index fell 5.54 points to close at 163.88.

Filed Under: Feature Stories, JSE Main Market, Stock Market Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

JSE main market drops – Thursday

February 7, 2019 by

Trading picked up over that on Wednesday on the main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange ended on Thursday with JSE All Jamaican Composite Index falling by 1,009.17 points to 407,175.49 and the JSE Index declining by 918.47 points to 370,989.95.
Main market activity ended with, 4,986,769 units valued at $74,552,633, in contrast with 2,541,810 units valued at $57,485,785 on Wednesday.
The main and US markets traded a total of 31 securities, with prices of 13 rising, 9 declining with 9 remaining unchanged, compared to 34 securities trading on Wednesday.
JMMB Group 7.5% preference share led trading with 2,001,000 units for 40 percent of the day’s volume, followed by Jamaica Broilers with 1,531,165 shares and accounting for 21 percent of the total main market volume changing hands and Wisynco Group with 589,188 stock units for 12 percent of the day’s volume.
IC bid-offer Indicator|The Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator ended with the reading showing 9 stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and 5 closing with lower offers.
An average of 184,695 units valued at $2,761,209, in contrast to 42,483 units valued at $1,358,497 on Wednesday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 523,805 units valued $16,891,062 and previously, 523,805 units valued $16,891,062. Trading for January resulted in an average of 101,980 units, valued at $3,042,494, for each security traded.
In main market activity, Barita Investments fell $1.52 to close at $49.48, with 5,691 shares changing hands, Caribbean Cement shed 95 cents to finish at $42.05, trading 15,476 shares, Jamaica Broilers dropped $3.51 in trading of 1,531,165 units, to close at $29. Jamaica Stock Exchange closed trading with 35,508 units changing hands, with a rise of 45 cents to a record close of $13.95. JMMB Group concluded trading with 12,319 shares but rose 80 cents to $32.80, Kingston Wharves lost $1.10 and settled at $68.90, with 6,557 units changing hands, 138 Student Living rose 41 cents to $3.40, in trading 1,000 units, PanJam Investment rose $1 to end at $75 with 11,974 units changing hands. Sagicor Group fell by 20 cents in trading 30,407 stock units, to close at $38.55, Scotia Group climbed $2.94 and finished trading of 59,319 shares at $53.99 and Seprod lose $1.41 to end at $34.92 with an exchange of 13,581 shares.
Trading in the US dollar market resulted in 10,022 units valued at US$4,728 changing hands. JMMB Group 6% preference share concluded trading with a gain of 2 cents to settle at $1.06 with 950 units, JMMB Group 5.75% preference share finished with a rise of 1 cent to $2 with 486 shares trading, JMMB Group 5.5% preference share settled ended at $2 with 486 shares and Proven Investments traded 8,100 units and rose 1 cent to close at 22 US cents. The JSE USD Equities Index was unchanged at the close at 169.42.

Filed Under: Company News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Robust JSE main market gain – Wednesday

February 6, 2019 by

Trading on the main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange ended on Wednesday with JSE All Jamaican Composite Index climbing 1,683.64 points to 408,184.66 and the JSE Index advancing by 1,532.33 points to close at 371,908.42.
Main market activity ended with just 2,541,810 units valued at $57,485,785, in contrast with 1,062,072 units valued at over $33,962,415 on Tuesday.
The main and US markets traded a total of 34 securities, with prices of 7 rising, 12 declining with 15 remaining unchanged, compared to 29 securities trading on Tuesday.
Supreme Ventures led trading with 622,892 units for 24.5 percent of the day’s volume, followed by Wisynco Group with 539,782 shares and accounting for 21 percent of the total main market volume changing hands and JMMB Group 7.5% preference share with 415,445 stock units for 16 percent of the day’s volume.
IC bid-offer Indicator|The Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator ended with the reading showing 6 stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and 4 closing with lower offers.
An average of 81,994 units valued at an average of $1,854,380, in contrast to 42,483 units valued at $1,358,497 on Tuesday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 523,805 units valued $16,891,062 and previously, 684,936 units valued at $22,375,029. Trading for January resulted in an average of 101,980 units valued at $3,042,494, for each security traded.
In main market activity, Barita Investments fell 40 cents to close at $51, with 158,787 shares changing hands, Jamaica Broilers fell by 49 cents in trading of 21,422 units at $32.51, Jamaica Stock Exchange closed trading with 46,997 units changing hands with a rise of 50 cents to $13.50. Kingston Wharves gained 80 cents and settled at $70.00, with 3,678 units changing hands, 138 Student Living rose 68 cents to $2.99, in trading 100 units, PanJam Investment lost $1 to end at $74 with 4,680 units changing hands. Sagicor Group fell by 25 cents trading 22,412 stock units, to close at $38.75, Scotia Group lost $1.95 and finished trading of 16,288 shares at $51.05 and Seprod lost 99 cents to end at $33.51 with an exchange of 12,894 shares.
Trading in the US dollar market resulted in 61,777 units valued at $6,450 changing hands. Margaritaville  ended trading 477 shares at 24 US cents, Proven Investments traded 6,300 units and rose 1 cent to close at 22 US cents and Sygnus Credit Investments closed trading of 55,000 units to close at 9 US cents. The JSE USD Equities Index advanced 0.33 points to close at 169.42.

Filed Under: Feature Stories, JSE Main Market, Stock Market Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

JSE trading volume drops 95% on Tuesday

February 5, 2019 by

The main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange major indices roseat the close on Tuesday, but with sharply lower volume that dropped 95 percent from Monday’s levels.
Main market activity ended with just 1,062,072 units valued at over $33,962,415, in contrast with 22,820,352 units valued at $1,138,660,815 on Monday.
At the close, the All Jamaican Composite Index advanced by 335.04 points to end at 406,501.02 and the JSE Index gained 304.93 points to close at 370,376.09.
The main and US markets traded a total of 29 securities, with prices of 9 rising, 11 declining with 9 remaining unchanged, compared to 32 securities trading on Monday.
Scotia Group led trading with 216,870 units for 24 percent of the day’s volume, followed by Mayberry Jamaican Equities with 140,980 units and accounting for 22 percent of the total main market volume changing hands and Supreme Ventures with just 86,305 units for 8 percent of the day’s volume.
IC bid-offer Indicator|The Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator ended with the reading showing 9 stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and 3 closing with lower offers.
An average of 42,483 units valued at $1,358,497, in contrast to 786,909 shares valued at $39,264,166 on Monday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 684,936 units valued at  $22,375,029 and previously 952,625 units valued at $31,131,917. Trading for January resulted in an average of 101,980 units valued at $3,042,494, for each security traded.
In main market activity, Jamaica Broilers jumped $3 to finish trading of 66,896 units at $33, Jamaica Producers lost $1 to close at $22, with 12,548 shares changing hands, Jamaica Stock Exchange closed trading with 62,328 units changing hands with a rise of 35 cents to $13, JMMB Group fell 50 cents to close at $32, trading 10,248 shares. Kingston Wharves gained 80 cents and settled at $70.00, with 3,678 units changing hands, Sagicor Group fell 99 cents trading 53,111 stock units, to close at $39, Salada Foods jumped $1.25 to $39.25 in trading 1,067 units. Scotia Group lost 97 cents and finished trading of 216,870 shares at $53 and Seprod rose $1.48 cents to end at $34.50 with an exchange of 20,208 shares.
Trading in the US dollar market resulted in 236,650 units valued at $83,993 changing hands. JMMB 5.75% preference share traded 5,000 units and lost 1 cent to end at a 52 weeks’ low of US$1.99, JMMB 6% preference share concluded trading of 52,960 units at US$1.04, Proven Investments traded 26,040 units and rose 1 cent to close at 22 US cents and Sygnus Credit Investments closed trading of 152,650 units to close at 9 US cents. The JSE USD Equities Index advanced 3.46 points to close at 169.09.

Filed Under: Company News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Heavy trading continues for JSE majors – Monday

February 4, 2019 by

The main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange major indices suffered sharp lossesat the close on Monday, with the market having another day of big volume.
Main market activity ended with 22,820,352 units valued at $1,138,660,815 compared with 34,337,150 units valued at $729,254,221, on Friday.
At the close, the All Jamaican Composite Index dived 8,017.57 points to close at 406,165.98 and the JSE Index plunged 7,297.03 points to close at 370,071.16. Adjustment to the average price of NCB Financial compared to that on Friday, was the major contributing factor to the sharp correction to the indices with the JSE reported closing price being $142.81 versus $148.99 on Friday as opposed to the last traded price of $145 on both days.
The main and US markets traded a total of 32 securities, with prices of 10 rising, 11 declining with 11 remaining unchanged, compared to 33 securities trading on Friday.
Sagicor Group led trading with 5,552,292 units for 24 percent of the day’s volume, followed by  Scotia Group with 4,982,116 units and accounting for 22 percent of the total main market volume changing hands, NCB Financial Group traded 3,598,470 shares and 15.8 percent of main market volume. Also trading in large volumes are, Victoria Mutual Investments with 2,402,133 units, JMMB Group exchanging 2,333,919 shares and Jamaica Stock Exchange with 1,011,290 shares changing hands.
IC bid-offer Indicator|The Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator ended with the reading showing 10 stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and 2 closing with lower offers. The reading is far less bullish than the reading at the close of Friday, of 15 to 2.
An average of 786,909 units valued at $39,264,166, in contrast to 1,107,650 shares valued at $23,524,330 on Friday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 952,625 units valued at $31,131,917. Trading for January resulted in an average of 101,980 units valued at $3,042,494, for each security traded.
In main market activity, Barita Investments lost 30 cents in closing at $51.50, with 5,650 shares changing hands, Berger Paints gained $1 to end at $21.00, with just 136 stock units trading, Jamaica Producers rose 70 cents to close at $23, with 660 shares changing hands. Jamaica Stock Exchange closed trading with 1,011,290 units changing hands compared to 2,677,014 units on Friday with a decline of 35 cents to $12.65, JMMB Group fell 49 cents to close at $32.50, trading 2,333,919 shares, Proven Investments dropped $8 trading 893,487 units to close at $28. Sagicor Group rose 49 cents trading just under 5.6 million stock units, to close at $39.99, Salada Foods dropped $4 to $38 in trading 10,084 units, Scotia Group climbed $3.67 and finished trading of 4,982,116 shares at $53.97 and Seprod lost 48 cents to end at $33.02 with an exchange of 22,224 shares.
Trading in the US dollar market resulted in 840,023 units valued at $179,653 changing hands. JMMB Group  5.75% preference share traded 400 units at US$2, JMMB Group 6% preference share concluded trading of 3,040 units at US$1.04 and Proven Investments traded 836,583 units at 21 US cents The JSE USD Equities Index closed unchanged at 165.63.

Filed Under: Feature Stories, JSE Main Market, Stock Market Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Watch NCB but Fontana may break out

February 4, 2019 by

Jamaica Stock Exchange listed companies will start releasing the December quarterly reports this week. Results could move prices depending on how investors view their strength or weaknesses.  
NCB Financial remains on the Watch List with strong gains in operating profit for the December quarter, resulting in increased demand for the stock last week with the price rising to $152.90 but two big trades on Friday peg the price back to $145. The stock should continue to see buying interest around the current level that could well result in another attempt at the $150 level as investors find it difficult to get meaningful supply at the $145 level. There is currently over 210,000 units on offer at $145. The price is currently below near term resistance at $150. If it breaks through then it faces another at $170 with $200 level being the next big one.
Fontana now has a bid to buy 904,281 units at $3.50, with just 56,452 units on offer, for sale at $3.60. A relatively high degree of overhang of supply of the stock that that was on offer, was bought on Thursday. The reduced supply could now pave the way for buyers to be more aggressive in acquiring shares to benefit from the strong potential gains that lie ahead. General Accident enjoyed greater demand in the past week with the price rising to $4. With the 2018 results likely to come out in the region of 45 cents per share that will provide solid incentive for the buyers to pick up the stock.

Fontana upcoming Waterloo Road branch

Jamaica Stock Exchange shares hit new highs during the past week with increasing interest being shown in the stock. Exposed supply is current not high and with expected continued buoyancy in the market and a big increase in new listings this year investors seem more aggressive to buy into what should be another year of increased profit for the company. Supply of Seprod’s shares continue to decline after a period of high supply following the public sale of 91 million shares that satisfied the market and resulted in increased selling as some investors took profit. The price has been inching higher over the past week or two and seems poised to move higher again in the coming weeks. Wisynco’s directors met last week and announced a 7 cents dividend. Most likely, the second quarter results would have been approve at that meeting and should be released this week. Last year results were posted on the JSE website on February 7. The second quarter results, are expected to be better than the first quarter. Revenue in the September quarter was negatively affected by some disruption in sales due to commissioning of new equipment.
The three Lasco companies should be releasing results for the December quarter by the end of the week and the prices could see some movements as a result.

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