In foreign exchange trading on Tuesday net inflows was a positive US$5.6 million, continuing the positive flows for the month to date, with only two trading days with negative flows. Market activity led to the selling rates of the three most heavily traded currencies falling.
At the close of the market, dealers bought the equivalent of US$56,569,758 of all currencies and sold US$50,911,941, compared to US$57,145,968 purchased and US$44,171,546 sold on Monday.
In US dollar trading, dealers bought US$42,554,466 compared to US$49,535,429 on Monday. The buying rate for the US dollar rose 4 cents to $127.77. A total of US$39,593,605 was sold versus US$40,408,814 on Monday, with the selling rate declining 3 cents to end at $128.58. The Canadian dollar buying rate rose $1.16 to $96.06, with dealers buying C$13,395,825 and selling C$12,250,744 at an average rate that increased 39 cents to finish at $96.70. 
The average rate for buying the British Pound rose $1 to $158.20 for the purchase of £2,920,959 while £953,157 was sold with a fall of 81 cents to end at $158.79.
At the end of trading on Tuesday, dealers sold €519,303 with the selling rate for the Euro, closing with a rise of 41 cents to $136.11, according to data from Bank of Jamaica. Dealers purchased €212,007 of the European common currency at $130.04 after rising $1.29. The US dollar equivalent of other currencies traded, amounts to US$111,749 being bought and selling of US$377,917.
Highs & Lows| Notable changes to the highest and lowest rates for the regularly traded foreign currencies on Tuesday, include a rise of $1 in the lowest selling rate of the US dollar to $121. The highest buying rate for the Canadian dollar fell $2.45 to end at $97.55, while the highest selling rate dipped $2.34 to $102.10 and the lowest selling rate lost $1.50 to $90. The highest buying rate for the British Pound fell $5.25 to $160.36, the highest selling rate jumped $7.28 to end at $175 and the highest selling rate for the Euro dropped $2.72 to $137.14.
Jamaican stocks pull back from record
Sagicor Group ended at a record close on Tuesday.
The All Jamaica Composite Index closed with a fall of 1,065.07 points, to close at 203,183.02 to be up by 21 percent for the year to date. The JSE Market Index dropped 952.36 points to finish at 186,056.31. The JSE combined index declined by 647.20 points to close at 198,710.84, with gain for the year to date, of 26 percent.
Market activity ended with 43 securities changing hands. At the close, the prices of 12 stocks gained while 20 declined in the overall market, including 4 stocks rising and 8 falling, in the junior market.
Supreme Ventures was by far the leading trade with 9,605,483 units with a value of $47.69 million to end unchanged at $5.
The market ended with 22,971,772 units valued at $146,022,777 changed hands, compared to 15,872,231 units valued at $373,022,747 changing hands on Monday. Of the stocks traded, the junior market accounted for 4,752,058 units changing hands, valued at $32,819,600.
The average trade for the day in the main market ended at 728,789 shares compared to an average of 347,644 units traded on Monday. The average for the month to date ends at 538,216 shares compared to an average of 248,915 units for the month up to Monday. November ended with an average of 208,466 units.IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 10 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 7 with lower offers.
In market activity, Berger Paints traded 19,191 shares and but lost 60 cents to end at $5, Cable & Wireless had 1,502,331 units trading as the price slipped 10 cents to end at 70 cents, after it traded as high as 95 cents. Caribbean Cement traded with a loss of $2.81 while trading 2,650 shares at $33.19, Carreras rose 25 cents in exchanging 117,093 shares to close at $66.25, Investors traded 254,597 shares of 1834 Investments to close with a loss of 20 cents at $1.15. Grace Kennedy gained 1 cent to close at $40.01 with 249,612 shares changing hands. Jamaica Stock Exchange traded 157,935 shares, to end at $5.60, JMMB Group traded 2,110,794 shares and rose 15 cents to close at $14.01.
Mayberry Investments ended trading with 1,600 shares, to close with a fall of 70 cents at $4.80, National Commercial Bank lost 49 cents and ended at $49 with 39,724 shares changing hands, PANJAM Investment traded 68,216 shares to close at $27.50, Radio Jamaica closed at $1.20 with 3,006,491 shares trading. Sagicor Group closed with 19,200 shares changing hands to end 47 cents higher at a 52 weeks’ closing high of $27.50. Scotia Group gained 90 cents with 68,292 shares changing hands and closed at $34.90, Scotia Investments lost 9 cents with 4,300 units changing hands to close at $33.40, Proven Investments rose 1 cent to end at 22 US cents, with 136,536 units changing hands and JMMB Group 7.50% preference share traded 796,475 units at $1.08.
Juniors jump to record close on Tuesday
New high for Cargo Handlers on Tuesday.
At the close, the prices of 4 stocks rose, 8 declined with 18 securities trading, compared to 17 trading on Monday as Lasco Distributors dominated trading with 4,494,594 shares after rising 15 cents to close at $6.70. Volume of stocks traded fell on Tuesday by 14 percent, from Monday’s level, ending with 4,752,058 units changing hands, valued at $32,819,600, up 24 percent from $26,556,207 on Monday.
Market activities ended with 7 securities closing with bids higher than their last selling prices and just 2 ending with lower offers.
An average of 264,003 units with an average value of $1,823,311 units traded, compared to 324,429 units with an average value of $1,562,130 on the preceding trading day. The average for December to date is 146,640 units, at an average of $736,180. The average for December to Monday is 137,612 units, at an average of $652,554. November ended with an average of 109,679 units with an average value of $607,092.
CAC 2000 fell 60 cents in trading 2,112 shares to end at $4.50, Cargo Handlers climbed 30 cents to hit a new high of $16.30, with 23,630 shares changing hands, Caribbean Cream closed with 16,455 shares changing hands and lost 20 cents to end at $8. Caribbean Flavours lost 50 cents with 2,000 units changing hands. Caribbean Producers rose 25 cents in trading 400 units at $3.50, C2W Music had 6,122 units changing hands to close at 35 cents, Dolphin Cove exchanged 333 shares and closed at $15, Honey Bun had 1,700 shares changing hands to close at $6 after falling 19 cents. 
Iron Rock Insurance traded 215 shares and dropped back $1.05 to $3.60, Jetcon Corporation closed trading with 80,200 units, to end at $5.89, KLE Group ended at $1.95 with 5,530 shares changing hands, Knutsford Express traded just 253 shares but the price slipped 44 cents to $19.55. Lasco Financial ended with 10,200 shares changing hands, for 5 cents higher to $3.35, Lasco Manufacturing ended at $4.98 with a fall of 2 cents after 99,283 units switch hands, Medical Disposables had 6,900 units changing hands, to close with a fall of 60 cents at $4.20, Sweet River traded 200 shares to close at $3.85 and Eppley 9.5% preference share traded 1,931 units at $6.18.
Falling stocks beat rising ones 4 to 1 on TTSE
Trading on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange on Tuesday resulted in only 9 securities changing hands compared to 7 on Monday. Market activity ended with only 1 stock that advanced, 4 declined and 4 held firm with 107,398 units being traded at a value of $1,567,701 compared to Monday’s 140,454 shares valued at $1,002,987.
The Composite Index slipped 0.15 point to 1,205.40, the All T&T Index lost 0.29 point to 1,833.09 with its year to date loss at 5.91 percent. The Cross Listed Index remained at 77.20 points with year to date gains of 55.93 percent.
IC bid-offer Indicator |The Investor’s Choice bid-offer ended with 7 stocks with bids higher than last selling prices and 8 with lower offers.
Gains| Massy Holdings jumped $1 on the trading of 1,351 shares to close at $52 to be the sole stock rising.
< Strong> Losses| First Citizens Bank closed at $34.55, after falling by 37 cents with 112 shares changing 
owners, LJ Williams lost 1 cent in closing at 66 cents with 39,168 shares changing hands. Trinidad & Tobago NGL fell 24 cents to close at $21.25 with 2,123 shares changing ownership and West Indian Tobacco lost 5 cents to end at $126.90 with 10,000 units changing hands.
Firm Trades | Clico Investments with 87 shares being traded, closed at $22.60, JMMB Group was unchanged at 89 cents with an exchange of 48,223 shares, National Flour traded 45,000 shares at $2.52 and Trinidad Cement closed at $4.25 while trading 9,644 shares.
JSE majors drop 1,529 points – Tuesday
Unlike Monday when it took half an hour for the first trade to take place from the opening of the Jamaica Stock Exchange, trading started as the market opened on Tuesday, but the main market suffered a big fall while the junior market inched up.
Trading saw sizable transactions in Carreras with 116,349 shares at $66.25, JMMB Group with 2,004,607 units at $14, Supreme Ventures exchanging 2,329,268 units at $5, Proven Investments 135,336 units at 22 US cents and JMMB Group 7.50% preference share traded 796,475 units at $1.08. 
In the junior market Cargo Handlers hit a new high of $16.30 but with only 23,630 shares changing hands and Lasco Distributors traded 3,200,418 units at $7.
Market activity has been moderate resulting in 37 securities traded at 11:15 am, compared to 23 on Monday at 10:45 am. A total of 8 securities advanced and 15 declined, resulting in a volume of 9,217,455 shares changing hands carrying a value of $88,961,404, compared 1,109,562 shares changing hands carrying a value of $9,413,375.
The average number of shares traded, amount to 256,036 units versus mere 48,242 units on Monday.
The all Jamaica Composite Index dropped 1,529.81 points to 202,718.28, the Jamaica Stock Exchange Market Index fell 1,367.92 points to 185,640.75, the Jamaica Stock Exchange combined index declined 930.46 points to be at 198,427.58 and the junior market index blasted to a new high with an increase of 40.43 points to 2,564.39 at 10:45 but pulled back a bit to be up 32.88 at 2,556.84.
More gains for Jamaican$ – Monday
The Jamaican dollar recorded all-round gains in foreign exchange trading on Monday. At the close of the market, dealers bought the equivalent of US$57,145,968 of all currencies and sold US$44,171,546, compared to US$44,831,673 purchased and US$39,459,521 sold on Friday.
In US dollar trading, dealers bought US$49,535,429 compared to US$39,652,245 on Friday. The buying rate for the US dollar fell 25 cents to $127.73. A total of US$40,408,814 was sold versus US$32,675,259 on Friday, with the selling rate declining 8 cents to end at $128.61. The Canadian dollar buying rate rose 4 cents to $94.90, with dealers buying C$6,252,854 and selling C$2,626,895 at an average rate that decreased by $1.19 to finish at $96.31. 
The average rate for buying the British Pound dropped 60 cents to $157.20 for the purchase of £2,267,695 while £1,191,171 was sold with a fall of 7 cents to end at $159.60.
At the end of trading on Monday, dealers sold €292,265 with the selling rate for the Euro, closing with a fall of 36 cents to $135.70, according to data from Bank of Jamaica. Dealers purchased €147,019 of the European common currency at $128.75 after falling $1.99. The US dollar equivalent of other currencies traded, amounts to US$26,092 being bought and selling of US$8,997.
Highs & Lows| Notable changes to the highest and lowest rates for the regularly traded foreign currencies on Monday, include a rise of $16.67 in the lowest selling rate of the US dollar to $120. 
The highest buying rate for the Canadian dollar rose $3.10 to end at $100, while the highest selling rate jumped $4 to $104.44 and the lowest selling rate lost 80 cents to $91.50. The lowest buying rate for the British Pound fell $1 to $128.90, the highest selling rate dipped $1.30 to end at $167.72 and the lowest selling rate gained $1 to $154. The highest buying rate for the Euro dropped $1.50 to $132, the highest selling rate dropped $3.89 to $139.86, while the lowest selling rate climbed $1.50 to $129.50.
Low activity continues on TTSE
Trading on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange on Monday resulted in only 7 securities changing hands compared to 6 on Friday. Market activity ended with only 1 stock that advanced, 3 declined and 2 held firm with 140,454 units being traded at a value of $1,002,987 compared to Friday’s 90,693 shares valued at $416,211.
The Composite Index slipped 0.21 point to 1,205.55, the All T & T Index lost 0.42 point to 1,833.38 with its year to date loss at 5.91 percent. The Cross Listed Index remained at 77.20 points with year to date gains of 55.93 percent.
IC bid-offer Indicator |The Investor’s Choice bid-offer ended with 7 stocks with bids higher than last selling prices and 8 with lower offers.
Gains| First Citizens Bank closed at $34.92, rising 2 cents with 13,224 shares changing owners and Trinidad & Tobago NGL rose 4 cents to close at $21.49 with 227 shares changing ownership.
< Strong> Losses| Guardian Holdings traded 26,950 shares and lost 14 cents to close at $12.51
Firm Trades | Clico Investments with 87 shares being traded, closed at $22.60, JMMB Group was unchanged at 89 cents with an exchange of 48,223 shares, National Commercial Bank ended at $2.87 with 47,000 shares changing hands and Point Lisas traded unchanged at $3.70 with an exchange of 6,743 shares.
Juniors jump to new record close– Monday
Prices on the junior market mostly rose on Monday, and pushed the market index up by a strong 43.35 points to end at record close of 2,523.96, on increased trading activity from Friday’s levels, to be up a strong 41 percent for the year to date.
At the close, the prices of 9 stocks rose, 2 declined with just 17 securities trading, compared to 9 trading on Friday. The volume of stocks traded jumped on Monday by 71 percent, from Friday’s level, ending with 5,515,300 units changing hands, valued at $26,556,207, up 61 percent from $16,494,089 on Friday.
Market activities ended with 7 securities closing with bids higher than their last selling prices and just 5 ending with lower offers.
An average of 324,429 units with an average value of $1,562,130 units traded, compared to 357,770 units with an average value of $1,832,677 on the preceding trading day. The average for December to date is 137,612 units, at an average of $652,554. 
The average for December to Friday is 122,044 units, at an average of $576,756. November ended with an average of 109,679 units with an average value of $607,092.
Cargo Handlers climbed $2.99 to hit a new high of $16, with only 870 shares changing hands, Caribbean Cream closed with 7,297 shares changing hands and gained 25 cents to $8.20, Caribbean Flavours rose $2 to trade at a 52 weeks’ high of $13 with 5,000 units changing hands. Derrimon Trading exchanged 19,325 shares and closed at $3.70, after rising 15 cents, Honey Bun had 9,313 shares changing hands to close at $6.19 after gaining 19 cents. Iron Rock Insurance traded 516,500 shares at $4.65, Jamaican Teas ended at $4.25 with 8,350 shares being exchanged, Jetcon Corporation closed trading with 26,416 units, to end at $5.89, KLE Group ended at $1.95 with 1,355 shares changing hands, 
Knutsford Express traded just 200 shares but the price slipped 1 cent to $19.99. Lasco Distributors had 47,247 shares trading and rose 15 cents to close at $6.55. Lasco Financial ended with 200,502 shares changing hands for 5 cents more to $3.30, Lasco Manufacturing ended at $5 with a fall of 5 cents after 4,501,100 units switch hands, up from 2,898,885 shares changed hands, on Friday. Paramount Trading had 166,512 units changing hands to close at $3, Sweet River traded 3,300 shares with a rise of 3 cents to close at $3.85, tTech traded 513 shares but rose 25 cents to $5.25 and Eppley 9.5% preference share traded 1,500 units at $6.18.
Jamaican stocks break the 205,000 mark
The All Jamaica Composite Index surged sharply by more than 3,100 points shortly before the close of trading on Monday to a new intraday high of 205,169.41, but closed with a gain of 2,311.21 points, to end at a new record close of 204,248.09 to be up by 22 percent for the year to date.
The JSE Market Index jumped 2,066.63 points to finish at a record 187,008.67. The JSE combined index ballooned by 3,136.04 points to first time to end at close above the 200,000 points level for the first time to a record 200,132.17 but closed trading up 2,361.91 points to a record close of 199,358.04, with gain for the year to date, of 26 percent.
Market activity ended with 36 securities changing hands, at the close, the prices of 20 stocks gained while 7 declined in the overall market, including 9 stocks rising and 2 falling, in the junior market.
Grace Kennedy was by far the leading trade with 7,715,941 units with a value of $877.98 million to end at $40, after falling 99 cents.
At the close with 15,872,231 units valued at $373,022,747 changed hands, compared to 7,137,871 units valued at $101,431,149 changing hands on Friday. Of the stocks traded, the junior market accounted for 5,515,300 units changing hands, valued at $26,556,207.
The average trade for the day in the main market ended at 347,644 shares compared to an average of 178,088 units traded on Friday. The average for the month to date ends at 248,915 shares compared to an average of 150,187 units for the month up to Friday. November ended with an average of 208,466 units.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 9 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 9 with lower offers.
In market activity, Berger Paints traded 15,000 shares and but lost 10 cents to end at $5.60, Cable & Wireless had 559,968 units trading as the price slipped 10 cents to end at 80 cents, after it traded as high as 95 cents. Caribbean Cement traded with a gain of $1 while trading 8,112 shares at $36, Carreras exchanged 12,897 shares at $66, Investors traded 10,500 shares of 1834 Investments to close at $1.35. Jamaica Broilers ended trading with 30,000 units with a rise of 5 cents at $15.05. Jamaica Stock Exchange traded 159,308 shares, to end at $5.60, JMMB Group traded 31,193 shares and rose 31 cents to close at $13.86. 
Kingston Wharves traded 12,647 shares and gained 10 cents to $19.60. Mayberry Investments ended trading 733,287 shares, to close with a fall of 15 cents at $5.50, National Commercial Bank rose 49 cents and ended at $49.49 with 2,090 shares changing hands, PANJAM Investment traded 42,132 shares to close at $26.98, Sagicor Group closed with 132,469 shares changing hands to end 2 cents lower at $27.03. Sagicor Real Estate Fund traded 16,981 units to close with a gain of 5 cents at $10.95, Scotia Group with 718,493 shares changing hands closed at $34, Scotia Investments jumped $2.99 with 12,500 units changing hands to close at $33.49 and Supreme Ventures rose 15 cents to end at $5, with 143,313 units changing hands.
JSE jumps 2,448 points – Monday
Just over half an hour passed after trading opened on the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Monday for the first trade to take place and nearly an hour passed before any trade took place in the junior market but the market indices urged to new records with a some big jump.
Trading saw Cargo Handlers hit a new high of $16 but with only 300 shares changing hands and Caribbean Flavours also traded at a new high of $13. 
Iron Rock Insurance traded 515,000 shares at $4.30, Jamaica Stock Exchange traded 123,200 shares at $5.60, Mayberry Investments has so far traded 62,287 shares at $5.50 and Supreme Ventures 143,313 units at $5.
Market activity has been moderate resulting in 23 securities traded at 10:45 am, compared to 22 on Friday at 11:55 am. A total of 13 securities advanced and 3 declined, resulting in a volume of 1,109,562 shares changing hands carrying a value of $9,413,375, compared 4,246,518 shares changing hands carrying a value of $53,841,841. The average number of shares traded, amount to 48,242 units versus mere 193,024 units on Friday.
The all Jamaica Composite Index surged 2,454.35 points to 204,391.23, the Jamaica Stock Exchange Market Index jumped 2,191.63 points to 187,136.67, the Jamaica Stock Exchange combined index pumped up 2,449.53 points to be at 199,445.66 and the junior market index blasted to a new high with an increase of 40.32 points to be at 2,520.93.
