Iron Rock Insurance is one of 5 junior market companies poised to hit the market between February and March, ahead of the deadline for the ending of the tax break, accorded junior market companies.
Iron Rock is expected to be capitalized at just under $500 million and has as two of its principals William McConnell formerly managing director of Lascelles deMercado who use to own Globe Insurance Company and Evan Thwaites former of Globe Insurance.
Informed sources tell IC Insider that the prospectus should be out by the February 22, with the issue to be opened before the end of the month.
Mayberry Investments are the brokers for Iron Rock while JMMB Securities is handling two issues. The new listings if they are all approved, will raise the number of junior market listings to 34 and the number of companies listed to 30. In contrast the main market and the US dollar market has 35 companies listed plus a number of preference shares issued by companies with ordinary share listing.
The main market has almost stagnated and seems set to contract with two main market companies, that of Hardware and Lumber and Desnoes and Geddes look set to be delisted.
Iron Rock IPO hits market shortly
10 stocks rose on TTSE Thursday
Scotia Investments closed at a new high on TTSE
The Composite Index fell 4.80 points to close at 1,156.93, the All T&T Index dropped by 14.60 points to close at 1,909.70 and the Cross Listed Index gained 0.70 points to close at 53.39.
IC bid-offer Indicator| The Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator has turned negative with 3 stocks with bids higher than the last selling price and 8 stocks with offers that were lower.
Gains| Agostini’s traded 146 shares with a rise of 1 cent at $17.01, Clico Investment Fund closed with 8,193 shares changing hands 1 cent higher at $22.52, FirstCaribbean International Bank traded 100 shares to close with a rise of 8 cents at a 52 weeks’ high of $5.20. Guardian Holdings gained 5 cents with 10,194 shares changing hands to close at $14.30, National Commercial Bank gained 4 cents in trading 1,000 shares to close at $2.40. Prestige Holdings gained 25 cents to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $10.50, Republic Financial Holdings gained 1 cent to close at $112.03 with 9,291 shares changing hands at a value of $ 1,040,828. Sagicor Financial Corporation closed with 38,642 shares changing hands, to end with a rise of 2 cents at a 52 weeks’ high of $6.52 and Scotia Investments rose 6 cents to end at a 52 weeks’ high of $1.70 (J$32.30) with 128,711 shares changing hands. At the close, there is a bid to buy 171,540 shares at $1.70 with no stock on offer.
Losses| Massy Holdings traded 150 shares as the price ended 2 cents lower to close at new 52 weeks’ low of $59.50, National Enterprises dropped $1.17 to a 52 weeks low of $14.80 while trading 300 shares and Trinidad Cement lost 19 cents to end at $3.50 as 7,414 units changed hands.Firm Trades| Berger paints traded 75 units at $3.67, Grace Kennedy traded at $4.50 (J$84.60) with 100 units trading, Scotiabank closed with 30 shares changing hands to end at $59.99, Trinidad and Tobago NGL traded 43,900 units valued at $834,105 to close at $19 and Unilever Caribbean ended with 10 shares trading at $67.82.
Market fell on Thursday
Berger closed at a new high on Thursday
The JSE Market Index fell 608.92 points to 159,707.95 the all Jamaica Composite Index lost 680.50 points to end at 177,438.94 and the JSE combined index declined 667.38 points to close at 171,240.16.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading was 16 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and only 1 with a lower offer.
At the end of the market activities, Barita Investments ended with 5,478 units traded for 3 cents lower to close at $4.75, Berger Paints rose 58 cents to end at $5.08 at 52 weeks’ high, with 100,764 units traded. Cable and Wireless dropped 14 cents to close at $1.40 with 803,782 units trading. The company reported a profit of $144 million in the December quarter after accounting for an exceptional charge of $334 million and for the nine months losses were down sharply from $1.8 billion to $644 million after an exceptional charge of $504 million. Caribbean Cement fell 1 cent to close at $27.99 with 35,992 shares changing hands. Gleaner Company traded 1,998,200 shares to close at $2.40, Grace Kennedy closed at $84 with 1,500 units changing hands. Jamaica Broilers Group traded 45,584 units but dropped $1 to $13.50, JMMB Group traded 6,875,563 units but fell 15 cents to end at $11.75. Kingston Wharves rose 19 cents with 13,848 units changing hands at $11.19,
Margaritaville Turks had 180,290 shares trading at 14 US cents, National Commercial Bank traded 114,437 shares and fell 50 cents to close at $41.50. Pulse Investments traded 230,500 shares to end at a 52 weeks’ high of $4.20 after rising by 10 cents after it traded earlier in the day at $4.80, Sagicor Group closed at $23 with 164,051 units changing hands. Sagicor Real Estate Fund fell 20 cents to close at $11.80 while trading 65,892 shares, after it traded at an intraday high of $12.05. Scotia Group had 157,488 shares changing hands to close at $34, Scotia Investments had 36,067 units changing hands at $29, Seprod added 100 units and jumped $1 in ending at $22. Supreme Ventures lost 10 cents to close at $6.20, with 85,982 units changing hands, but traded earlier, at an intraday high of $7 and JMMB 7.50% preference share traded 603,733 units with a gain of 3 cents to close at $2.15.
10 junior stocks up & 5 down – Thursday
Jamaican Teas closed at a new high of $7.50 on Thursday.
The junior market encountered a moderate fall at the closed on Thursday with 19 securities trading, 10 of which advanced, 5 declined. The market ended with index having slipped 10.32 points to end at 2,286.05 as 4 stocks closed at a new 52 weeks’ high as 1,462,823 units changed hands, valued at $6,676,310.
At the close, 2 securities ended with no bid to buy and 6 securities had no stocks being offered for sale but there are strong signs of the possibility of a big move forward, as 8 stocks closed with bids that were higher than their last selling prices and none ended with a lower offer. Including in the list of stocks with higher bids are Access Financial at $17.55 to buy 5,800 units and 33,700 units with a bid of $17.50, the stock last traded at $16.80 but the only offer is at $24 to sell 15,150 units and Cargo Handlers at $40.07 to buy 780 units, the last sale was at $39.
In trading, AMG Packaging lost 50 cents while 31,317 units changed hands, to end at $20.50, CAC 2000 gained 24 cents to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $7 with 10,710 shares changing hands, C2W Music traded 116,777 shares but lost 2 cents to end at 47 cents. Caribbean Cream gained 1 cent in trading 95,273 shares to close at $4.65, Caribbean Flavours ended with 30,000 units changing hands at $8.50, Caribbean Producers traded 52,267 units to close at $5.95, after rising by 5 cents. Consolidated Bakeries traded 5,000 units to close with a loss of 1 cent at $1.63, Derrimon Trading rose 5 cents, to end with 7,975 shares trading at a 52 weeks’ closing high of $4.55, General Accident gained 4 cents in trading 36,600 shares to close at $2.10, Honey Bun rose 80 cents as 6,669 units changed hands to end at a 52 weeks’ high of $11.80.
Jamaican Teas rose 50 cents while trading 77,893 shares, to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $7.50, KLE Group ended at $2.75 with 13,604 units trading, Knutsford Express closed with 5,110 units changing hands at $17, Lasco Distributors closed with 86,476 units trading, to gain 34 cents to end at $7.84. Lasco Financial dropped sharply to close with a loss of 96 cents at $3.05 while 658,883 shares changed hands, Lasco Manufacturing ended trading with 183,822 shares and gained 4 cents to close at $4.99, Medical Disposables ended trading 30,000 units but the price slipped 5 cents to $3.50, tTech closed with a gain of 10 cents at $4.70 with 228,954 shares trading and Eppley preference share traded 10,000 units at $6.10.
CWC Caribbean business grows
Strong mobile growth in the Caribbean, 7 percent, was offset by a 9 percent decline in BTC, consistent with our expectations CWC PLC reported today. Mobile revenues (40 percent of total Group revenue) was up 1 percent in the third quarter the report stated.
Caribbean growth was driven by continued subscriber additions in Jamaica (+15 percent) where investment in our mobile network led to revenue growth of 16 percent, with data revenue up 72 percent. Broadband (13 percent of Group revenue) was 5 percent higher against the prior year, as subscriber growth in the Caribbean drove Group subscribers up 6 percent.
The company said that they are training new customer service agents for our new call centre in Jamaica which is expected to open in March quarter.
Regulatory approval for Liberty Global to acquire the entire share capital of CWC PLC is ongoing. It is expected that the Scheme Document to be dispatched by mid-March with completion in the second calendar quarter of 2016, as stated in the Offer Announcement.
Jamaican stocks in demand on TTSE
Grace hits new high on TTSE on Wednesday
Shares of Jamaican based companies listed on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange are in good demand at the close of trading on Wednesday with three of them rising at the close. At the close Scotia Investments was quoted with the bid at $1.64 (J$30.90) to purchase 152,486 stock units while 13,711 units were on offer at $1.70 or J$32. The market closed with only 5 securities being active on Wednesday, after closing on Monday and Tuesday. A total of 3 stocks gained, 1 fell and 1 remained unchanged. A total of 89,702 shares changed hands valued at $319,137.
The Composite Index advanced by 1.60 points to close at 1,161.73, the All T&T Index advanced by 0.12 points to close at 1,924.30 and the Cross Listed Index gained 0.42 points to close at 52.69.
IC bid-offer Indicator| The Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator has turned negative with 6 stocks with bids higher than the last selling price and 7 stocks with offers that were lower.
Gains| Grace Kennedy gained 28 cents to 52 weeks’ high of $4.50 (J$84.60) with 25,500 units trading and had a bid to buy 24,500 units at the closing price with none on offer, 
JMMB Group traded with a gain of 2 cents with 50,000 shares trading to close at a 52 weeks’ high of 57 cents. At the close there was buying interest at 57 cents for 25,000 units, with selling at 63 cents for 75,000 shares, National Commercial Bank gained 1 cent in trading 5,707 shares to close at $2.36, at the close buying was moderate and so was the selling.
Losses| Massy Holdings traded 25 shares as the price ended 8 cents lower to close at new 52 weeks’ low of $59.52.
Firm Trades| Trinidad and Tobago NGL traded 8,470 units to close at $19.
Spirited recovery for JSE on Tuesday
Margaritaville Turks traded at a new 52 weeks’ high on Tuesday.
The Jamaica Stock Exchange recovered from two days of major losses in the main market indices on Tuesday with 47 securities changing hands in all market segments, 17 of which gained and 16 declined. Seven stocks closed at 52 weeks’ highs and 4 at intraday highs as 7,135,151 units valued at $62,892,474 changed hands in all markets. The junior market accounted for 1,181,038 units changed hands, valued at $6,522,458.
The JSE Market Index climbed 1,442.14 points to 160,316.87 the all Jamaica Composite Index recovered 1,611.67 points to end at 178,119.44 and the JSE combined index rose 1,323.61 points to close at 171,905.15.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading was 18 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and only 1 with a lower offer.
At the end of the market activities, Barita Investments ended with 35,224 units traded to close at $4.78, Berger Paints fell 30 cents to end at $4.50 after trading at 52 weeks’ intraday high of $5.05, with 191,462 units traded. Cable and Wireless gained 4 cents to close at $1.54 with 149,329 units trading, Caribbean Cement rose 90 cents to close at $28 with 22,982 shares changing hands. Carreras traded 18,990 shares at $62.75 with a gain of 24 cents, 
Ciboney traded 72,660 shares at 21 cents, Desnoes and Geddes had 14,567 changing hands at $22.88, Gleaner Company fell 2 cents in trading 47,576 shares to close at $2.40, Grace Kennedy gained $1 to close at $84 with 4,452 units changing hands. Jamaica Broilers Group traded 178,900 units but gained 50 cents to $14.50, Jamaica Producers lost 50 cents to end at $29.50 with 30,882 units trading, Jamaica Stock Exchange traded 12,480 shares at $20, JMMB Group traded 12,133 units and gained 90 cents to end at a 52 weeks’ high of $11.90. Kingston Wharves rose 53 cents with 16,827 units changing hands at $11, Margaritaville Turks had 500 shares trading at a new high of 14 US cents up from 13.7 cents on Monday, National Commercial Bank traded 271,792 shares and rose $1 to close at $42. Pan Jamaican Investments closed at $94.50 after trading 192,708 shares with a loss of $1.50. Pulse Investments traded 263,268 shares at a 52 weeks’ high of $4.10 after rising by 9 cents after it traded earlier in the day at $4.50, Sagicor Group closed at $23 with 131,685 units changing hands.
Sagicor Real Estate Fund gained 50 cents to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $12 while trading 43,900 shares, Scotia Group had 91,317 shares changing hands to close with a loss of $3 at $34, Seprod added 38,921 units and dropped 99 cents in ending at $21. Supreme Ventures rose 5 cents to close at $6.30, with 900,005 units changing hands, but traded earlier, at an intraday high of $7. Proven Investments ordinary share traded 79,600 units to close at 22 US cents, Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share traded 836,600 units with a gain of 3 cents to close at $2.15 and Proven Investments 8% preference share traded 19,100 units at $5.
8 junior stocks fell 4 gained – Tuesday
Honey Bun closed at a new 52 weeks’ high on Monday
At the close, 2 securities ended with no bid to buy and 6 securities had no stocks being offered for sale but there are strong signs of the possibility of a big move forward on Thursday, as 9 stocks closed with bids that were higher than their last selling prices and none ended with a lower offer. Including in the list of stocks with higher bids are Access at $17.55 to buy 5,800 units and 33,700 units with a bid of $17.50, the stock last traded at $16.80 and Cargo Handlers at $40.07 to buy 890 units, the last sale was at $39.
In trading, AMG Packaging lost 50 cents while 17,110 units changed hands, to end at $21, C2W traded 3,000 shares at 49 cents, Caribbean Cream fell 6 cents in trading 88,384 shares to close at $4.64, Caribbean Flavours ended with 28,150 units changing hands at $8.50, Caribbean Producers traded 44,200 units to close at $5.90. Consolidated Bakeries traded 130,236 units to close at $1.64, Derrimon trading ended with 5,000 shares trading at $4.50, Eppley traded 2,000 units at a new high of $400.01, for 1 cent appreciation, General Accident fell 4 cents in trading 31,741 shares to close at $2.06.
Honey Bun had 36,400 units changing hands at $11 as the price rose $1 for a 52 weeks’ high, Jamaican Teas gained $1 while trading 65,649 shares trading to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $7, KLE Group ended at $2.75 with 28,126 units trading. Knutsford Express closed with 6,924 units changing hands but fell 25 cents at $17, Lasco Distributors fell 23 cents in trading 29,125 units to close at $7.50, Lasco Financial closed with a loss of 9 cents at $4.01 with 214,529 shares changing hands. Lasco Manufacturing ended trading with 172,310 shares but fell 5 cents to close at $4.95, tTech closed with fall of 1 cent at $4.60 with 228,954 shares trading and Derrimon Trading preference share traded 49,200 units at $2.16.
Big gains in early JSE trading
The Jamaica Stock Exchange got off to a rousing start to make a big recovery from the two previous days of big losses in the main market indices with the all Jamaica index rising over 2,900 points. The junior market index rose by 18 points in the process and a number of stocks traded at new highs as the bullishness of the market continues apace.
After 75 minutes of trading Jamaican Teas traded 33,948 shares up to $6.85 for a new all-time high, also trading at new 52 weeks’ highs are Berger Paints with 18,250 units at $4.90, Pulse Investments traded 13,268 units at a new high of $4.50 and Seprod with 11624 units at $22. Trading resulted in 37 securities being active amounting to 1,561,289 units as 18 stocks recorded gains and 5 declined.
Big gains were recorded by Grace Kennedy up by $2 to $85, National Commercial Bank up by $2 to $43, Pan Jam Investment with a gain of $1.50 to $97.50 but with Scotia Group dropping to $3 from $34.
The all Jamaica Composite Index rose 2,929.63 points to 179,434.40, the JSE Market Index jumped 2,618.78 points to 161,493.51, the JSE combined index gained 2,635.56 points to 173,219.49 and the junior market index rose 18.41 points to 2,318.79 as this market continues to make recovery from recent declines.
