Trading in the Jamaican foreign exchange market saw dealers purchasing US$8 more than they sold on Friday, with trading levels back to normal, compared to over US$120 million dollar changing hands on Thursday. The rate of the local dollar saw a very slight erosion, climbing to $123.15 for the selling rate of the US dollar. The Jamaican dollar declined against the Canadian dollar and gained against the Pound.
The market closed with dealers buying the equivalent of US$33,671,447 and selling US$25,438,235, in contrast to US$123,767,068 purchased and US$123,055,349 sold on Thursday.
In US dollar trading, dealers bought US$30,487,529 compared to US$120,456,040 on Thursday, as the buying rate for the US dollar fell 53 cents to close at $122.37.
A total of US$24,056,712 was sold versus US$120,998,074 on Thursday with the selling rate rising 1 cent to $123.15. The Canadian dollar buying rate jumped $1.24 to end at $95.16 with dealers buying C$1,262,941 and selling C$580,684, at an average rate that rose 51 cents to $97.53. The rate for buying the British Pound fell 83 cents to $175.90 for the purchase of £1,478,725, while £475,362 was sold, as the rate dropped $2.70 to $177.03.
At the end of trading, the selling rate for Euro, rose 10 cents to close at J$139.34, from Thursday’s rate, according to data from Bank of Jamaica, while dealers purchased the European common currency at J$136.98 for a rise of 88 cents from Thursday’s rate. 
The US dollar equivalent of other currencies traded amounts to US$76,225 being bought, while US$238,349 was sold.
Highs & Lows| Notable changes to the highest and lowest traded rates for the Jamaican dollar against the main currencies on Friday are, a rise of $9.16 in the lowest selling rate of the US dollar to end at $102.66, a fall of $1.50 in the highest buying rate of the Canadian dollar to $97.50 and a decline of $2.80 in the lowest selling rate to end at $87.20. A rise of $4.20 in the lowest selling rate to $172.20 for the British Pound.
More FX bought than sold – Friday
Trading picked up on TTSE – Friday
Witco traded at a new high on the TTSE.
The Composite Index declined by 1.14 points to close at 1,125.23, the All T&T Index eased 2.47 points to close at 1,799.00 and the Cross Listed Index advanced by 0.03 points to end at 59.97.
IC bid-offer Indicator| The Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator ended with 6 stocks with the bid higher than the last selling prices and 9 with offers that were lower.
Gains| Sagicor Financial Corporation gained 3 cents and closed with 33,285 shares valued at $582,378 changing hands, at $7.13, Point Lisas rose 4 cents to end at $3.94 with 212 shares changing hands. Trinidad Cement rose 1 cent to close $3.36 with 597,415 shares valued at $2,006,665 changing hands and West Indian Tobacco traded 361 shares to close at 52 weeks’ high of $126.35 after rising 5 cents.
Losses| Clico Investments Fund traded 208,749 shares and lost 10 cents, to end at $22.60, Guardian Holdings had 30,265 shares valued at $393,447 changing hands, to end 25 cents lower at $13.
Massy Holdings lost 71 cents to close at 52 weeks’ low of $51.50 with 5,083 shares changing hands and Republic Financial Holdings declined by 1 cent to close at $108.99, with 25 shares changing hands, at a 52 weeks’ low.Firm Trades| Ansa Merchant Bank traded 200 units at $39.50, Firstcaribbean International Bank traded 5,035 shares to end at $6.52, Grace Kennedy traded 9,064 shares at $5.15, National Enterprises closed with 182 shares changing hands at $11.35. Scotia Investments closed with 2,500 shares trading at $1.62 and Trinidad and Tobago NGL traded at $19.52 with 270,538 shares valued at $5,280,915 changing hands.
3 Lascos dominate on Friday
The Lasco companies traded the most shares on Friday.
Trading on the junior market saw more stocks rising than declining, but a fall of $1.30 in the price of Lasco Manufacturing resulted in the junior market index falling by 38.55 points to end at 2,064.85 as the three Lasco listed companies accounted for the bulk of the volume for the day. .
There were 12 active securities trading, with 8 advancing and 3 declining. At the close, 9 stocks closed with bids higher than the last selling prices and 3 ended with lower offers. Volume traded is 2,216,522 shares valued at $11,878,080.
At the end of trading in a market, AMG Packaging traded 16,841 shares at $13, Caribbean Cream traded 68,200 units to gain 15 cents and end at $4.35, Honey Bun rose 20 cents to end at $17.20 with 305 shares trading. Iron Rock Insurance traded at $3.35 at the close while 8,800 shares changed hands, with a gain of 5 cents,
Jamaican Teas traded 25,571 shares and fell 1 cent to end at $3.99, Jetcon Corporation gained 20 cents to end at $2.90 while only 500 units traded. Knutsford Express traded 9,600 shares but fell $2.10 to $16.80, Lasco Distributors rose 35 cents and ended at $7.60 with 998,711 shares trading, Lasco Financial gained 15 cents to close at $3.15 with 569,195 shares changing hands. Lasco Manufacturing fell $1.30 to close at $3.55 with 488,299 shares trading, Medical Disposables rose by 10 cents in trading 30,000 shares to close at $3.20 and tTech ended with 500 units changing hands to end with a gain of 27 cents at $4.45.
Mayberry 17m trade – Friday
Mayberry Investments dominated trading with 17,605,039 shares but the price declined to $3 in 
the mid-morning session on the Jamaica Stock Exchange. Other trades of import are Lasco Distributors with 684,917 units at $7.20 and Lasco Financial Services 422,346 units at $3.
After 90 minutes of trading, on Friday, the average volume traded amounts to 657,664 units per active stock, compared to an average of 149,862 units traded in the mid-morning session on Thursday. A total of 30 securities accounting for 19,729,923 shares changed hands as 7 stocks gained and 11 declined.
The market saw the all Jamaica Composite Index gained 623.18 points to 166,663.13, the JSE Market Index rose 557.22 points to 150,068.48, the JSE combined index ended with a rise of 116.53 points to 160,380.11 and the junior market index declined 39.14 points to 2,064.26.
Guardian acquisition near complete
National Commercial Bank’s agreement November 2015 to purchase a 29.99 percent stake in Guardian Holdings Limited is much closer to completion with approval given by the two most important countries in the region.
According to a note in NCB’s March quarter results “the approvals in Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago have been obtained, but a few others remain to be received but a few others remain to be received, following which it is expected that the transaction will be completed.”
The acquisition of the shares will be done through a private sale of shares from a group of large shareholders. The successful completion of the transaction required regulatory approval from territories in which both entities operate.
NCB reported profit for the six months ended March of $6 billion or $2.44 per stock unit an increase of $594 million or 11 percent and for the quarter profit of $3.6 billion was realised or earnings per share of $1.47. The group is on target to enjoy earnings for the full year, in the region of $5.50 per share.
Big jump in Jamaica’s FX trades – Thursday
Trading jumped sharply in the Jamaican foreign exchange market on Thursday with over US$120 million dollar changing hands for an unusually high level of trading. The rate of the local dollar saw further erosion climbing to $123.14 for the selling rate for the US dollar. The Jamaican dollar declined against the Pound and gained against the Canadian dollar.
The market closed with dealers buying the equivalent of US$123,767,068 and selling US$123,055,349, in contrast to US$40,752,667 purchased and US$33,016,027 sold on Wednesday.
In US dollar trading, dealers bought US$120,456,040 compared to US$33,016,150 on Wednesday, as the buying rate for the US dollar rose 74 cents to close at $122.90. A total of US$120,998,074 was sold versus US$31,727,298 on Wednesday with the selling rate rising 3 cents to $123.14. 
The Canadian dollar buying rate declined by 17 cents to end at $93.92 with dealers buying C$883,954 and selling C$612,031, at an average rate that fell 33 cents to $97.02. The rate for buying the British Pound fell 3 cents to $176.73 for the purchase of £1,759,249, while £830,527 was sold, as the rate rose $1.16 to $179.73.
At the end of trading, the selling rate for Euro, rose 28 cents to close at J$139.24, from Wednesday’s rate, according to data from Bank of Jamaica, while dealers purchased the European common currency at J$136.10 for a rise of 26 cents from Wednesday’s rate. The US dollar equivalent of other currencies traded amounts to US$105,669 being bought, while US$362,915 was sold.
Highs & Lows| Notable changes to the highest and lowest traded rates for the Jamaican dollar against the main currencies on Thursday are, a fall of $6.53 in the lowest selling rate of the US dollar to end at $93.50, a fall of $3.78 in the lowest buying rate of the Canadian dollar to $73 and a rise of $2 in the lowest selling rate to end at $90. A fall of $1 in the highest buying rate for the British Pound to $180.50, a rise of $1.72 in the highest selling rate to $185.76 and a rise of $1 in the lowest selling rate to $168.
Big losses for JSE – Thursday
Mayberry Investments traded most shares on the JSE with 2,315,000 units.
The JSE Market Index plummeted 2,934.82 points to end at 149,511.26, the all Jamaica Composite Index dropped 3,282.21 points to 166,039.95 and the JSE combined index dived 2,789.11 points, to close at 160,263.58. The decline in the movement in the main market on Thursday, breaks the four consecutive trading days that the indices gained prior to today out turn.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading showed 19 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 5 with lower offers. The higher bids jumped sharply, but that is most likely associated with month end widow dressing.At the end of market activities, Berger Paints traded 19,399 shares at $3.90, Cable & Wireless closed at $1.39, in trading 1,517,355 units, Caribbean Cement traded 29,736 shares and rose $2 to close at $28, Carreras fell 50 cents while trading 1,805 shares, to close at $62.50. Slimmed down Gleaner Company, now rebranded as 1834 Investments, lost 2 cents to close at a 52 weeks low, of 98 cents, Hardware and Lumber had 10,240 shares trading with a loss of 55 cents at $12.50, Jamaica Broilers had 22,805 units changing hands, to close with a gain of 50 cents at $14.50. Jamaica Stock Exchange traded 15,000 units and rose $1, to close at $22, JMMB Group traded 23,873 shares and shed 50 cents to end at $10, Kingston Wharves traded 6,174 shares to close at $11.20, with a loss of 10 cents, Mayberry Investments traded 2,315,000 shares but fell 58 cents to $3.32, National Commercial Bank lost 20 cents in trading 589,045 shares, to close at $39.80.
Pulse Investments traded 185,515 shares with a fall of 30 cents to close at $2.50, Radio Jamaica traded 94,200 shares and climbed 7 cents to close at $1.15, Sagicor Group fell 15 cents to end with 605,440 shares changing hands at $22.05, Sagicor Real Estate Fund traded 25,645 shares to close at $10.15 after falling 10 cents, Scotia Group closed with a loss of $2.99 to end at $31 while 20,164 units changed hands, Scotia Investments traded 115,465 shares to close at $25.50 and Supreme Ventures closed at $5.39 with 240,047 shares changing hands for a loss of 34 cents, Proven Investments closed with 24,500 ordinary shares trading and gained 2 US cents to 20 US cents and JMMB Group 7.50% preference shares ended with 1500,00 units trading at $1.04.
Trading falls for juniors – Thursday
Lasco Financial traded the largest volume of 1,397,376 units on Thursday.
At the close, 7 stocks closed with bids higher than the last selling prices and 3 ended with lower offers. Volume traded is 3,938,670 shares valued at $14,970,710.
At the end of trading in a market, AMG Packaging traded 1,848 shares at $13, Caribbean Cream traded 133,566 units to gain 20 cents and end at $4.20, Consolidated Bakeries rose 8 cents in trading 18,782 shares to close at $1.25, Honey Bun rose $1.20 to end at $17 with 4,000 shares trading.
Iron Rock Insurance traded at $3.30 while 9,786 shares changed hands with a gain of 20 cents, ISP Finance had 50,000 shares changing hands and rose 29 cents to close at $2.74, Jamaican Teas traded 5,000 shares and gained 30 cents to end at $4, Jetcon Corporation fell 15 cents to end at $2.70 while 880, 327 units traded. Lasco Distributors rose 5 cents and ended at $7.25 with 272,349 shares trading. Lasco Financial lost 10 cents to close at $3 with 1,397,376 shares changing hands, Lasco Manufacturing rose 15 cents to close at $4.85 with 1,213,474 shares trading and tTech ended with 2,162 units changing hands to end with a gain of 3 cents at $4.18.
Only TTSE stocks trade – Thursday
Trading ended with just 6 active securities changing hands on Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange on Thursday with 3 stocks gaining and 1 declining while 2 remained unchanged as trading ended with 127,056 shares valued at $838,231 changing hands. Notwithstanding the advance decline ratio the market remains under selling pressure with several stocks closing with offers below the last traded price.
The Composite Index declined by 0.39 points to close at 1,126.37, the All T&T Index eased 1.39 points to close at 1,801.47 and the Cross Listed Index advanced by 0.09 points to end at 59.94.
IC bid-offer Indicator| The Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator ended with 5 stocks with the bid higher than the last selling prices and 12 with offers that were lower.
Gains| Sagicor Financial Corporation gained 10 cents and closed with 82,025 shares valued at $582,378 changing hands at $7.10, 
Trinidad and Tobago NGL gained 1 cent, to close at $19.53 with 1,500 shares trading and West Indian Tobacco rose 2 cents to close at $126.30 with 139 shares changing hands.
Losses| Massy Holdings, lost 73 cents to close at 52 weeks’ low of $52.21 with 1,465 shares changing hands.
Firm Trades| Angostura Holdings closed at $13 with 1,875 shares changing hands and Praetorian Property Mutual Fund traded 40,052 shares to end at $2.70.
JSE slip in early trading – Thursday
Trading in the mid-morning session on the Jamaica Stock Exchange saw decline in the main and junior market indices with the advance decline ratio being nearly even.
The leading trades in the morning session, include Cable and Wireless with 1,502,355 units, Jetcon Corporation with 836,487 units, Lasco Manufacturing 914,053 shares National Commercial Bank with 540,045 units ahead of today’s release of the March quarter results and dividend announcement.
After 90 minutes of trading, on Thursday, the average volume traded amounts to 149,862 units per active stock, compared to an average of 157,938 units traded in the mid-morning session on Wednesday. A total of 29 securities accounting for 4,346,000 shares changed hands as 7 stocks gained and 6 declined.
The market saw the all Jamaica Composite Index slipped 506.63 points to 168,815.53, the JSE Market Index fell 453.01 points to 151,993.07, the JSE combined index ended with a fall of 529.58 points to 162,523.11 and the junior market index declined 10.66 points to 2,099.24.
