Rising interest rates in Ghana is affecting demand for stocks in this West African Country. The country is seeing high levels of inflation with the latest data showing the monthly change rate for February at 1.1 percent, against the 3.9 percent recorded in January 2014 and fiscal deficit that is running around 10 percent of GDP and devaluation of the country’s currency which are influencing investors to demand more interest on savings.
Interest rates which were in the order of 18.5 percent at the end of December last year is now at 23.69 percent for the 91 Days Treasury Bills and is up strongly from end of February at 21.21 percent. The exchange rate has slipped by 18 percent against the United States dollar since the start of the year which has effectively wiped out the gains of 11.24 percent in the main index and 17.14 percent in the financial index for the year to date, in real terms.
In the past week, the Ghana Stock market declined and has been doing so from the week starting February 24 and seems poised to decline some more as buying interest recedes with only 14 bids in the market at the close on Friday March 28 and is down from 19 bids on Wednesday and compared to 23 offers on Friday. For the week only 4 stocks enjoyed price gains and 11 declined compared to 8 rising the week before to 6 that declined.
The Ghana Stock Exchange Composite Index closed the week at 2,386.39 points and was down from 2,388.74 at the end of the previous week and the Ghana Stock Exchange Financial index ended at 2,092.75 points compared to 2,110.94 at the end of the prior week.
Rising inflation & interest rates affect stocks
4 stocks at new highs on TTSE
Four stocks closed at new 52 weeks high, on the Trinidad Stock Exchange, on the final trading day of the week, as 5 stocks advanced and 2 declined.
Market activity resulted in the trading in 15 securities with 170,619 shares changing hands valued at $2,121,879. The Composite Index was down by 0.49 points to 1,171.28 while the All T&T Index fell by 0.98 points to close at 1,987.20 and the Cross Listed Index remained at 46.62.
Gains| Stocks advancing are Ansa Merchant Bank that contributed 1,280 shares at $38.49 by gaining 11 cents, One Caribbean Media 200 shares at $20 while gaining 25 cents to record a new 52 weeks high at the close, Republic Bank 6,854 shares at a new 52 weeks high of $120.11, with a gain of a cent, Unilever Caribbean 332 units to close at $58.20 for a 13 cents gain and LJ Williams B shares 11,650 units to close at 90 cents up 11 cents, both at new 52 weeks highs.
Firm Trades| Stocks trading unchanged are Clico Investment Fund 3,763 shares to end at $21.85, First Caribbean International Bank contributed 21,520 shares with a value of $123,740 and closed at $5.75, Grace Kennedy 20,000 units at $3.50, Jamaica Money Market Brokers saw 21,000 shares changing hands valued at $11,790 as the price closed at 59 cents. National Commercial Bank had 26,435 shares changing hands for a value of $30,665 as it closed $1.16, National Flour Mills traded 22,175 shares for $27,941 to close at $1.26, Neal & Massy traded 3,494 shares to close at $66.31 and Sagicor Financial Corporation 4,100 units to close at $7.05,
Declines| Stocks declining are First Citizens Bank traded 8,500 shares valued at $197,169 as the price slipped by a cent to end at $34.99, and Guardian Holdings 11,765 shares at 25 cents lower at $13.50.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 3 stocks with the bids that were higher than their last selling prices and only 1 stock with the offer that is lower.
More insider sales than buys
Recently, there was low-volume insider selling of stocks of 3 companies with one buying, which does not suggest much about the companies’ fortunes changing significantly.
The largest is Jamaica Money Market Brokers. However, the company’s stock has been rising in Trinidad following a briefing by the company where the management told investors that they were bullish on JMMB’s future including news about acquiring a bank in the Dominican Republic.
JMMB advised that a related party sold 270,007 of its shares on March 25.
Blue Power Group advised that a senior manager sold 20,000 shares of the company on March 18.
Mayberry Investments advised that a director sold 13,650 of its shares during the period March 20 – 21.
The Gleaner Company advised that a Director purchased 30,000 of its shares on March 20.
Related posts | JMMB Insiders sell big | JMMB in expansion mode | NCB insider buys, JMMB sells
Hibernating stocks awaken on TTSE
A number of stocks that have either not traded in months or seldom traded from as far back 2013 surfaced from their slumber in Thursday’s trading on the Trinidad Stock Exchange. Included in the list, are Ansa Merchant Bank, Berger Paints, Flavorite Foods and Prestige Holdings. The change flushed out some stocks that were showing signs that they would fall when they next traded as offer prices were lower than their last selling price for some time.
Market activity resulted in the trading in 13 securities of which 5 advanced, 4 declined and 4 traded firm resulting in 106,402 shares changing hands, valued at $2,855,845 and moving the Composite Index down by 1.31 points to 1,171.77 while the All T&T Index fell by 2.61 points to close at 1,988.18 and the Cross Listed Index remained at 46.62.
Gains| Stocks recording gains in the market are Ansa Merchant Bank contributing 9,411 shares with a value of $361,226 as the price moved up 10 cents to end at $38.40, Clico Investment Fund with 24,180 shares valued at $528,333, the price advanced by 9 cents to end at $21.85. One Caribbean Media with 200 shares at $19.75 while gaining 5 cents to record a new 52 weeks high at the close and Republic Bank while trading 2,953 shares at a new 52 weeks high of $120.10 with a gain of 2 cents and Scotiabank with an increase of 90 cents to end the day at $71.00 while trading 205 shares.
Firm Trades| Angostura Holdings traded 602 shares at $11, Berger Paints 100 units at $3.60, Jamaica Money Market Brokers saw 39,340 shares changing hands for a value of $22,030 as the price closed at 56 cents and Neal & Massy traded 20,038 shares for $1,328,720 to close at $66.31.
Declines| First Citizens Bank traded 5,608 shares valued at $197,169 as the price slipped by 25 cents to end at $35, Flavorite Foods fell $1.21 to close at $7, a new 52 weeks low, Guardian Holdings 1,755 shares at 25 cents lower at $13.75, Prestige Holdings traded only 10 shares to close at $9.29 for a 1 cent decline.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 3 stocks with the bids higher than their last selling prices and only 1 stock with the offer that is lower.
Strong arbitrage position in JMMB in JSE & TTSE
Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB) closed at 56 cents, the equivalent of JS$9.50 while it closed at J$7.50 in Jamaica, providing investors with a great arbitrage position, with a huge 26 percent price difference at the end of trading.
Trading overall in the Trinidad Stock market on Wednesday saw 12 securities changing hands of which 5 advanced, 5 declined and 2 traded firm resulting in the Composite Index declining by 4.54 points to close at 1,173.08, the All T&T Index falling by 8.83 points to close at 1,990.79 and the Cross Listed Index easing by 0.03 points to close at 46.62. Trading resulted in 653,357 shares changing hands, valued at $6,420,588.
Gains| (JMMB) was the volume leader with 186,000 shares changing hands for a value of $103,300, closing 3 cents higher to end at 56 cents, National Enterprises gained 2 cents to close at $18.27, National Flour Mills added 110,000 shares valued at $138,600 to close a cent higher at $1.26, a 52 weeks high, Neal & Massy traded only 35 units at $66.31 for a one cent gain.
Declines| First Caribbean International Bank traded 15,072 shares at $5.75, down a cent, First Citizens Bank 3,581 shares at $36.07, down 28 cents Grace Kennedy with 161,400 shares traded for $564,975 and fell 13 cents to $3.50, Scotiabank with 215 shares, close at $70.10, down $1.90 and Trinidad Cement contributed 118,574 shares with a value of $243,723 to close at $2.05.
Firm Trades| Angostura Holdings 900 shares to close at $11.00, Sagicor Financial Corporation had only 50 units changing hands to end at $7.05.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 2 stocks with the bids higher than their last selling price and 3 stocks with offers that were lower.
Trinidad’s sleepy market
Stock market activity in Trinidad on Tuesday, saw trading in 13 securities, of which 3 advanced, 2 declined and 8 traded firm as 603,335 shares changed hands, for $7,429,236. The Composite Index edged up by 0.41 points to 1,177.62, the All T&T Index declined by 0.14 points to close at 1,999.62 and the Cross Listed Index inched up by 0.13 points to 46.65.
Gains| Clico Investment Fund traded 70,814 shares valued at $1,540,905 and gained 6 cents, to end the day at $21.76. Jamaica Money Market Brokers with 230,942 shares changing hands for a value of $122,179, closed 3 cents higher at 53 cents, Republic Bank with 955 units at $120.05 up 2 cents, a new 52 weeks high.
Firm Trades| Stock trading unchanged are Agostini’s with 471 units at $17.75, ANSA McAL 10 shares at $66.49, Angostura Holdings 10 shares at $11, National Flour Mills with a volume of 172,504 shares traded for $215,574 to close at $1.25, Point Lisas Industrial Port Development 300 shares at $3.65, Sagicor Financial Corporation 13,200 shares to close at $7.05, Guardian Media 957 units at $19.75 and West Indian Tobacco which added 17,501 shares valued at $2,065,118 to close at $118.
Declines First Citizens Bank contributed 88,671 shares with a value of $3,223,211 to close 4 cents lower at $36.35, Grace Kennedy traded 7,000 units to close with a one cent fall at $3.63.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 3 stocks with the bid higher than the last selling price and 5 stocks with offers that were lower.
FX: J$ appreciates
Monday, 24th March 2014 | The local currency appreciated against the major currencies except for the selling rate for the Canadian dollar. This took place as the amount for foreign currency bought exceeded the amount sold by the equivalent by $7.5 million.
There was buying of US$38,600,389 with the rate declining by 12 cents to end at $108.88 (Friday: US$39,864,913) and selling of US$29,900,773 (Friday: US$39,864,913) for 6 cents decline to $109.43.
The buying rate for the Canadian dollar fell by 23 cents to $95.34 as C$1,114,268 was bought and the selling rate rose 22 cents to $98.57 with C$2,479,837 sold.
The buying rate for the Pound dropped by $1.42 to $177.19 as £1,449,392 was bought by dealers and £727,330 was sold at $180.48 as the rate slipped 52 cents.
Other currencies bought equate to US$694,012 with the equivalent of US$1,254,297 being sold, a total of US$42,093,724 equivalent was bought and the equivalent of US$34,588,319 was sold.
Highs & Lows | The highest buying rate for the US dollar fetched 45 cents less than on Friday in reaching $109.90 while the lowest rate remained unchanged at $88.93; the highest selling rate remained at $113.95 and the lowest fell $17.99 to $88.51.
The highest buying rate for the Canadian dollar fell 16 cents to end at $98.10, the lowest buying rate was unchanged at $76.69; but the highest selling rate moved down by 50 cents to $100.50 and the lowest closed up 65 cents to reach $93.05.
The highest buying rate for the Pound fell by 75 cents to $181.35, the lowest buying rate rose 4 cents to end at $144.05; the highest selling rate closed down by $1.30 at $185.70 and the lowest closed up 5 cents at $173.55.
Image courtesy of Arvind Balaraman/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
JSE: 13 up only 4 down
Monday, 24th March 2014 | In today’s trading on the Jamaica Stock market, the prices of 13 stocks rose and 4 declined, which is exactly in line with the IC bid offer indicator from Friday. A total of 22 securities traded resulting in 3,296,305 shares trading valued at $96,939,740.
Main Market | The main market dominated trading with the vast amount of advancing stocks coming from this segment. The JSE Market Index climbed 269.80 points to close at 76,448.11 and the JSE All Jamaican Composite advanced by 301.55 points to 84,190.18.
Gains | Cable & Wireless with 653,000 shares as the price gained 6 cents to end at 44 cents; Caribbean Cement with 7,476 shares as the price inched up a cent to close at $4.16; Carreras 21,499 units closing 25 cents higher at $35.50; Jamaica Broilers 50,000 shares to close at $5.10 and gained 10 cents; Jamaica Money Market Brokers ordinary 395,010 units to close at $7.50 for a 30 cents gain; Mayberry Investments 200 units at $2 for a 10 cents gain; Pan Jam Investment 719 shares to close 4 cents higher at $49.05; Sagicor Group with 192,847 shares to close at $9.99 as it gained 68 cents; Sagicor Investments 3,536 shares closing at $18.40, up $1.30; Scotia Group with 78,157 shares as it closed at $21.12 for a gain of 6 cents and Scotia Investments 3,443 units while closing at $25, up 92 cents.
Firm | There were only a few stocks in the main market to close without a price change with Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% reference shares trading 50,000 units and closed at $2; Proven Investments with 121,000 ordinary shares closing at 18 US cents; Proven Investments 8% preference share traded 10,150 units at $5.07 and Sagicor Real Estate Fund with 3,000 units at $6.50.
Declines | The two stocks declined in the main market with Grace Kennedy putting in a solid trading of 1,499,578 units accounting for $85.8 million as the price slipped by $1.12 to close at $58.78 and National Commercial Bank that saw just 10,711 units changing hands at $19 at the close for a 50 cents fall.
Junior Market | The JSE Junior Market Index advanced by 0.45 points to close at 731.01 with only 5 stocks trading of which 2 advanced and 2 declined.
Jr Market Gains | The two stocks that traded higher are Consolidated Bakeries with 42,202 units to close at $1.20 for a 10 cents gain and Lasco Manufacturing with 104,238 units to close at $1.26 having gained 6 cents.
Jr Market Firm Trades| The sole trade in the junior market to hold firm is Lasco Distributors with 2,780 shares to end at $1.41.
Jr Market Declines| Blue Power traded 17,894 units to close down 4 cents at $9.01 and Caribbean Producers that closed with 28,865 units at $2.71 with a 29 cents fall.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 8 stocks with the bid higher than the last selling price and 4 stocks with offers lower.
TTSE: Not much buying
Monday, 24th March 2014 | Today there was trading in 14 securities on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange of which 2 advanced, 7 declined and 5 traded firm.
The Composite Index declined by 1.06 points to close at 1,177.21, the All T&T Index fell by 1.09 points to 1,999.76 and the Cross Listed Index eased by 0.14 points to close at 46.52. Trading resulted in 235,786 shares changing hands valued at $12,213,108.
Gains | With prices under some pressure from the absence of much buying, Jamaica Money Market Brokers gained 3 cents to end the day at 50 cents with only 1,082 units trading and Republic Bank traded 9,370 shares at $102.03 by gaining a cent to reach a new 52 weeks high.
Firm Trades | Angostura Holdings had 3,000 units changing hands at $11.00; ANSA McAL 15 units at $66.49; National Enterprises 7 units at $18.25; Neal & Massy 201 units at $66.30 and West Indian Tobacco 60,652 shares for $7,156,936 to close at $118.
Declines | Agostini’s traded 9,729 shares as the price closed at $17.75 for a 4 cents fall; Ansa Merchant Bank added 10,000 shares valued at $383,000, falling 19 cents to $38.30; Clico Investment Fund traded 16,612 shares valued at $360,169 and declined by 3 cents to end at $21.68; First Citizens Bank fell 30 cents as it traded 55,451 shares with a value of $2,017,677 and closed at $36.39; Guardian Holdings had 67,232 shares changing hands for a value of $941,248 and closed at $14 down 14 cents; National Commercial Bank traded 1,435 units to close at a cent off at $1.16 while Sagicor Financial Corporation traded 1,000 units as the price fell 24 cents to close at $7.05.
IC bid-offer Indicator | At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 4 stocks with the bid higher than the last selling price and 5 stocks with offers that were lower.
JMMB in expansion mode
Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB) has advised through its Trinidadian subsidiary, JMMB Investments (Trinidad and Tobago), that it received the approval of regulators for the acquisition of AIC Securities, a securities dealer and stockbroker headquartered in Trinidad. JMMB will now move to complete the transaction, which upon successful completion, will see it acquiring 100% of AIC Securities, a member of the AIC Financial Group Limited.
The Report out of Trinidad indicates that JMMB Group’s CEO Keith Duncan at an investors briefing “articulated that the Group continues to position itself as an integrated financial services provider with its regional expansion marked by the impending opening of JMMB Investments TT, its ownership of IBL Bank, alongside a pending bank acquisition in the Dominican Republic and the improved performance of the JMMB Merchant Bank in Jamaica.”
It should be noted that Michael Lee-Chin is the Chairman of AIC Financial Group Limited. In 2012, NCB Capital Markets had previously acquired AIC Finance, a merchant bank that operates in Trinidad.
AIC Securities offers portfolio management, investment advisory, and stock brokerage services, and is a member of the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange.
JMMB is an IC Insider Buy Rated Stock.
Related posts | Buy Rated: Ja Teas & JMMB big gains | JMMB Q2 profits jumps 56% | JMMB grows assets $125B to $200B
