Trading dived sharply on the Jamaica Stock Exchange US dollar market on Wednesday, with the volume and the value of stocks traded plunging sharply compared to trading on Tuesday, resulting in an exchange of five securities, down from nine on Tuesday with prices of one rising, three declining and one ending unchanged.
The market closed with an exchange of just 4,998 shares for a mere US$383 compared to 6,189,214 units at US$129,634 on Tuesday.
Trading averaged 1,000 shares at just US$77 compared to 687,690 shares at US$14,404 on Tuesday, with a month to date average of 284,130 stocks at US$6,365 compared with 367,404 units at US$8,215 on the previous day and August with an average of 297,880 units for US$8,245.
The US Denominated Equities Index popped 5.80 points to close at 234.08.
The PE Ratio, a well used measure to determine appropriate stock values, averages 7.8. The PE ratio is calculated based on last traded prices divided by projected earnings computed by ICInsider.com for companies with financial year ending around August 2025.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows one stock ended with a bid higher than the last selling price and two with lower offers.
At the close of the market, First Rock Real Estate USD share ended at 4 US cents with 210 stock units crossing the market, 
Proven Investments slipped 0.01 of one cent to 9.99 US cents in switching ownership of 3,172 units, Sterling Investments dipped 0.1 of a cent to end at 1.4 US cents after 600 shares were traded and Transjamaican Highway edged 0.14 of one cent higher to 2.15 US cents and closed with 1,000 stock units being traded.
In the preference segment, JMMB Group 5.75% sank 9 cents to close at US$1.76 with 16 shares crossing the exchange.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
JSE USD trading plunged Wednesday
Big jump for Junior Market
Healthy gains for Cargo Handlers, up 90 cents, Caribbean Cream 39 cents, Derrimon Trading 15 cents, Limners and Bards 29 cents, RA Williams 9 cents, Regency Petroleum13 cents and Stationery and Office Supplies 8 cents helped in giving the Junior Market Index a healthy increase of 49.59 points on Wednesday to finish at 3,642.09 on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange.
Trading activity closed with an 85 percent drop in the volume of stocks traded, with an 87 percent lower value than Tuesday with trading in 45 securities cup from 44 on Tuesday and ending with prices of 15 rising, 17 declining and 13 unchanged.
The market closed with trading of 5,251,054 shares for $8,765,974 from 35,215,476 units at $68,762,241 on Tuesday.
Trading averaged 116,690 shares at $194,799 compared to 800,352 stock units at $1,562,778 on Tuesday with the month to date, averaging 1,402,304 units at $1,922,631 compared to 2,031,136 stock units at $2,767,765 on the previous day and August with an average of 389,714 units at $570,529.
Derrimon Trading led trading with 1.68 million shares for 31.9 percent of total volume followed by RA Williams with 1.09 million units for 20.8 percent of the day’s trade and Regency Petroleum with 326,110 stock units for 6.2 percent market share.
The Junior Market ended trading with an average PE Ratio of 12.4, based on last traded prices in conjunction with earnings projected by ICInsider.com for financial years ending around August 2025.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows seven stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and six with lower offers.
At the close of trading, Cargo Handlers gained 90 cents to close at $10.12 after 6,607 shares were traded, Caribbean Cream popped 39 cents to $3.45 with 1,138 stocks clearing the market, Caribbean Flavours sank 17 cents to finish at $1.33 with investors trading 7,054 shares. Derrimon Trading advanced 15 cents and ended at $1.95 after an exchange of 1,677,349 stock units, Express Catering lost 10 cents in closing at $3.90 with 63,225 shares crossing the market, Future Energy shed 10 cents to end at $3.30 with traders dealing in 54,647 units.
GWest Corporation rose 8 cents in closing at $1.05 with 1,136 stocks changing hands, ISP Finance climbed $1.80 to $23.80 after an exchange of just 2 stock units, KLE Group increased 7 cents to finish at $1.37 with investors dealing in 6,570 shares. Limners and Bards rallied 29 cents and ended at $1.51 in trading 41,232 units, MFS Capital Partners increased 7 cents to end at 67 cents in switching ownership of 81,562 stocks, Paramount Trading climbed 11 cents to close at $1.26 and closed after 14,475 stock units were traded. RA Williams rose 9 cents to 89 cents with an exchange of 1,092,085 shares, Regency Petroleum rallied 13 cents in closing at $2.50 with 326,110 stock units crossing the market and Stationery and Office Supplies popped 8 cents to finish at $1.68 with a transfer of 120,000 stocks.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Trinidad stocks got more attractive in August
Stocks closed down on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange for August with just two stocks rising and 19 declining, with the composite index dropping 5 percent for the month and 12 percent for the year to date.
For the week to the end of August, the market recorded losses in 12 stocks with just 6 rising, with the value of stocks looking more attractive than at the start of the month and the week. Investing in this market requires a time horizon of a year or more for a solid payoff and then there maybe short term gains to be realised, as some prices may rebound from depressed prices currently.
Drop interest rates and stock market gains
Many financial market observers had their eyes glued on Bank of Jamaica’s Overnight rate and missed what was happening to interest rates in the Money Market. Interest rates declined from just under 12 percent on 28 day BOJ CDs in March to just 7.03 percent this Wednesday, with the central bank cutting the Over Night rate from 7 percent to 6.75 percent a fall of nearly 3.57 percent but the fall in CD rate was a huge 41 percent.
Rates are heading lower but investors seem to hardly notice the sharp change in market conditions with the cut in CD rates starting in April, at least that is what the performance of the Jamaica Stock Exchange is showing as the market declined in recent weeks, particularly the Junior Market.
What is going on? The argument is that stocks move conversely to interest rate movements. A look back at the 2015 to 2017 period possibly holds the answer. Back then, the Government of Jamaica Treasury bill rates declined by 23.18 percent from May to March 2017 but the All Jamaica Index rose by just 11.58 percent. While Treasury bill rates declined between May and October by 15.12 percent, the market index was going in the opposite direction with a fall in the value of 4.75 percent. The market index moderated in November to just a decline of 1.2 percent following the recovery of losses previously. In December, the market moved positively and carried on that path for several months as interest rates continued to fall. Overall, it took 5 months for the market to hit bottom, before moving higher.
Should CD rates be used as the measure for a decline in rates that will trigger the Stock Market to move higher or Treasury bill rates that have been steadier than CDs around the 8 percent level from 2023?
Stock market moves in opposite direction to interest rates sometimes with a lag.
Why CD rates are more important? While interest rates are important to market developments, the short term CDs are used to pull liquidity from the market, with the amount taken from the market peaking at $160 billion in March and are now at $120 billion. That means more money is in the financial system looking for a home than in the early months of the year. With rates now lower than for some time, investors will be looking for the best place to invest.
Now that inflation is running at an average of 4 percent per annum and economic growth is sputtering, further decline in interest rates can be expected before the end of 2024. Some of these funds will definitely go into stocks. The trend in 2015-2017 is a guide, but not definitive. While interest rates were at recent high levels, several stocks posted solid price gains resulting from rises in profits of these companies. Some of the leading winners with gains for 2024 to the end of August, are Lasco Manufacturing up 62 percent, Caribbean Assurance Brokers 56 percent, Blue Power 49 percent first rock 38 percent, General Accident 32 percent, Everything Fresh, Honey Bun and Wigton 30 percent.
Real estate will also benefit as the cost of borrowing to purchase properties falls in the future. All in all cost of financing will decline as the months roll on.
BOJ CD rates at now at 7%
Interest rates plunged on the latest Bank of Jamaica Certificate of deposit offer of $7 billion to the public. 
The auction attracted 295 bids amounting to $32.6 billion but only 39 bids were successful sending the average rate to down to 7.03 percent, just above the Banks’ Overnight rate of 6.75 percent.
The highest successful bid was 7.14 percent. At last week’s auction the average rate clear at 7.61 percent. Rates are down from a peak of nearly 12 percent in march this year.
The central bank continues to hold the stock of short term CDs at $120 billion.
Main Market trading drops
Trading dropped to subpar levels on the Jamaica Stock Exchange Main Market ended on Wednesday, with the volume of stocks traded declining moderately with a value 29 percent lower than on Tuesday and ending with trading in 61 securities compared with 58 on Tuesday, with prices of 18 rising, 26 declining and 17 ending unchanged.
The market closed with 5,508,902 shares being traded for $46,669,260 compared with 5,755,842 units at $66,152,268 on Tuesday.
Trading averaged 90,310 shares at $765,070 down from 99,239 units at $1,140,556 on Tuesday and month to date, an average of 96,369 units at $797,623 and below the 99,424 units at $814,035 on the previous day and August with an average of 290,511 units at $2,258,494.
Transjamaican Highway led trading with 2.81 million shares for 51 percent of total volume followed by Wigton Windfarm with 1.06 million units for 19.2 percent of the day’s trade and Sagicor Real Estate Fund with 178,695 stocks for 3.2 percent market share.
The All Jamaican Composite Index shed 393.83 points to 350,784.73, the JSE Main Index dropped 1,716.09 points to end at 308,869.86 and the JSE Financial Index lost 1.24 points to wrap up trading at 63.69.
The Main Market ended trading with an average PE Ratio of 14.2. The JSE Main and USD Market PE ratios are based on last traded prices and earnings forecasts by ICInsider.com for companies with the financial year ending around August 2025.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows 13 stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and five with lower offers.
At the close, AS Bryden climbed $3.04 in closing at $39.09 with 6 stock units clearing the market, Berger Paints shed 73 cents to $6.10 with a transfer of 14,333 shares, Caribbean Cement popped 50 cents to finish at $64.90 with 1,351 units crossing the exchange. Jamaica Broilers advanced $1.49 and ended at $34.49 with traders dealing in 18,469 stocks, Jamaica Producers lost $1.42 to close at $21.43 with 129,574 units crossing the market, Jamaica Stock Exchange skidded 69 cents to end at $10.16 in trading 24,876 shares. 
Mayberry Jamaican Equities sank $1.06 to $9.10 after 3,124 stock units passed through the market, MPC Caribbean Clean Energy declined $8.80 to end at $88 with investors swapping 78 stocks, Pan Jamaica sank $4.08 in closing at $46.01 with an exchange of 77,372 shares. Proven Investments dropped $1.14 to close at $15.30 with investors trading 15,118 stocks, Seprod fell $4.70 to finish at $81 after a transfer of 12,959 units and Wisynco Group rose 48 cents and ended at $21.78 with investors trading 35,047 stock units.
In the preference segment, 138 Student Living preference share dived $30 to $165 in an exchange of 2 shares.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Trading drop on the JSE markets Wednesday
The Junior Market and the JSE USD Market bounced in trading on Wednesday as the Main Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange declined after the market ended trading with a drop in the number of stocks changing hands, with the value falling from the previous trading day, resulting in prices of 31 shares rising and 38 declining.
At the close of trading, the JSE Combined Market Index declined 1,284.86 points to 321,482.79, the All Jamaican Composite Index lost 393.83 points to end at 350,784.73 and the JSE Main Index dropped 1,716.09 points to 308,869.86. The Junior Market Index jumped 49.59 points to 3,642.09 and the JSE USD Market Index popped 5.80 points to end at 234.08.
At the close of trading, 10,764,954 shares were exchanged in all three markets, down from 47,160,532 units on Tuesday, with the value of stocks traded on the Junior and Main markets amounted to $55.44 million, well below the $134.91 million on the previous trading day and the JSE USD market closed with an exchange of just 4,998 shares for US$383 compared to 6,189,214 units at US$129,634 on Tuesday.
In Main Market activity, Transjamaican Highway led trading with 2.81 million shares followed by Wigton Windfarm with 1.06 million units and Sagicor Real Estate Fund with 178,695 stocks.
In Junior Market trading, Derrimon Trading led trading with 1.68 million shares followed by RA Williams with 1.09 million units and Regency Petroleum with 326,110 stock units.
In the preference segment, 138 Student Living preference share dropped $30 to $165.
The market’s PE ratio, the most popular measure used to value stocks, ended at 19.7 on 2023-24 earnings and 13.3 times those for 2024-25 at the close of trading. ICInsider.com PE ratio chart and more detailed daily charts provide investors with regularly updated information to help decision-making.
The PE ratio chart covers all ordinary shares on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, grouped by industry, allowing for easy comparisons within a sector and the overall market. The EPS & PE ratios are based on 2023 and 2024 actual or projected earnings, excluding major one off items.
Pertinent information is required to navigate numerous investment options successfully in the stock market. The ICInsider.com PE ratio chart and more detailed daily charts provide investors with regularly updated information to help decision-making.
The chart should be used in making rational decisions when investing in stocks close to the average for the sector, not going too far from it unless there are compelling reasons to do so. This approach helps to remove emotions from investment decisions and place them on fundamentals while at the same time not being too far from the majority of investors. Investors who buy when the price of a stock is close to the average will find that they are not inclined to overpay for a stock.
The net asset value of each company is incorporated into the chart. Investors can use this measure in assessing stock values. The chart also shows daily changes in stock prices and the percentage year to date price movement based on the last traded prices.
Dividends that are paid or are due to be paid and yields for each company are shown in the Main and Junior Markets’ daily report charts, along with the closing volume of the highest bid and the lowest offer for each company.
Four stocks closed at one year lows
Four stocks ended at one year lows at the end of trading on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange on Wednesday, following trading in 18 securities compared with 20 on Tuesday and ending with prices of five rising, eight declining and five ending firm following the volume of stocks traded rising 145 percent and the value climbing 27 percent more than on Tuesday.
The market closed with trading of 382,651 shares for $7,262,693 up from 156,336 stocks at $5,708,506 on Tuesday.
An average of 21,258 shares were traded at $403,483 compared with 7,817 units at $285,425 on Tuesday, with trading month to date averaging 11,649 shares at $268,304 compared with 6,407 units at $194,591 on the previous day and August averaging 21,741 shares at $142,770.
The Composite Index dipped 0.16 points to 1,061.66, the All T&T Index slipped 0.31 points to finish at 1,591.41, the SME Index remained at 78.26 and the Cross-Listed Index ended unchanged at 69.25.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows five stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and two with lower offers.
At the close, Agostini’s remained at $65 as investors exchanged 15 stocks, Angostura Holdings climbed 10 cents to $17.75 with 10,000 units crossing the market, 
Ansa Merchant Bank increased 50 cents to finish at $41.50 with investors trading 5,803 shares. Calypso Macro Investment Fund shed 62 cents to close at $23.60 after an exchange of 4,000 stock units, First Citizens Group shed $3.50 to end at $40.50 after 55,962 shares were exchanged, FirstCaribbean International Bank popped 2 cents to $6.82 with 32 stock units crossing the exchange. Guardian Holdings lost 99 cents to end at a 52 weeks’ low of $13 after a transfer of 161,765 stocks, Guardian Media ended at $1.55 after 999 units were traded, JMMB Group ended at $1.05 in an exchange of 2,175 shares. Massy Holdings rallied 5 cents to end at $3.45 with 104,090 units changing hands, National Enterprises slipped 3 cents to finish at $3.02 in trading 10,666 stocks, NCB Financial remained at $2.70 after an exchange of 250 stock units. 
One Caribbean Media sank 53 cents to $3 after 2,270 shares passed through the market, Prestige Holdings rose 20 cents to close at $10.50 in an exchange of 954 stock units, Republic Financial declined $1.99 and ended at a 52 weeks’ low of $110 with investors swapping 13,415 units. Scotiabank sank $3 to end at $52 in switching ownership of 3,997 stocks, Trinidad & Tobago NGL dropped 15 cents in closing at a 52 weeks’ low of $5.10 with investors dealing in 5,258 shares and Trinidad Cement ended at $2.50 with a transfer of 1,000 stock units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Murders plunged 16% in Jamaica
Decline in murders is accelerating in Jamaica with the numbers up to the end of August falling by 15.9 percent according to the data released by Jamaica Constabulary Force, this is an improvement over the 14.5 percent fall to July 6.
According to the report, the period saw 147 fewer murders than for the same period in 2023 when 930 persons lost their lives at the hands of criminals. For the year to date, murders were 783 and seemed on track to fall below 1,200 for the year, with the trend suggesting 1,175, with the average murders over three per day, if that were to happen it would represent the third consecutive year of decline. If the trend continues into 2025, murders will fall below 1,000 for the first time since 2003 with 976 murders.
Police divisions with sizeable increases are, St. Andrew Central with 17 more murders up by a whopping 49 percent, St. Andrew North had 10 percent more murders with a rise of 27 percent to 47, but St. Andrew South had 15 percent fewer murders for a total of 67.
Westmoreland experienced declines with a high murder rate of 68, down by 16 percent compared to 2023. Hanover enjoyed a 29 percent cut in murders to 39 while the murder capital of Jamaica, St James enjoyed a sharp 32 percent cut to an extremely high 92, by far the highest of any division. St Ann had a 21 percent reduction to 35 and Clarendon dropped 23 percent to a still-high 52.
Big price moves & additions to ICTOP10
The Junior Market fell 113 points in contrast to the Main Market that rose 364 points in August and increased by 2 percent and 1.4 percent respectively for the past week, to close out August. Price changes were interesting, with the Junior Market having only one stock with a notable loss and 4 with worthwhile gains. The Main Market TOP10 had two losers of note and three noted winners.
In the Junior Market TOP10, Lumber Depot rose 8 percent to $2.95, followed by One Great Studio popping 7 percent to 79 cents, Stationery and Office Supplies gained 6 percent to $1.73, following spirited trading in the stock after they released half year results and AMG Packaging rose 5 percent to $2.75. The Caribbean Cream stock continued to be pressured by the delay in publishing quarterly results, promised for August 29 but not yet posted, has dropped 12 percent in closing at $3.05.
In the Main Market, Key Insurance rose 16 percent to $2.79, Margaritaville climbed 15 percent to $14.37 and JMMB Group rose 6 percent to $22.30. Berger Paints and 138 Student Living lost 7 percent each to close at $6.35 and $4 respectively.
The All JSE TOP10 includes ten stocks listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange with the highest potential gains in the market, based on projected 2024 earnings. Key Insurance dropped out of the list this week and was replaced by another insurance company, the Junior Market listed Iron Rock Insurance that dropped out at the end of the previous week.
There were two changes to the Main Market and Junior Market TOP10 listings for the week, one in the Junior Market and the other in the Main Market. Entering the Junior Market TOP10 is Cargo Handlers with the price falling to $8, with Lumber Depot falling out. In the Main Market, Palace Amusement dropped out allowing VM Investments to return to the TOP10.
The average PE for the JSE Main Market ICTOP 10 stands at 4.9, well below the market average of 14.3 and the Junior Market TOP10 sits at 6, just over half of the market, with an average of 12.6.
The Main Market ICTOP10 is projected to gain an average of 324 percent by May 2025, based on 2024 forecasted earnings and providing better values than the Junior Market with the potential to achieve 268 percent over the same period.
In the Main Market ICTOP 10, a total of 17 of the most highly valued stocks representing 33 percent of the Main Market have PEs between 15 to 107, with an average of 29 and 21 excluding the highest PE ratios, and a PE of 23 for the top half of the market with the highest values and 17 excluding the stocks with overweight values.
In the Junior Market IC TOP10 are 10 stocks, 21 percent of the market, with PEs ranging from 15 to 23 and a PE of 17 for half of the market with the highest values.
ICTOP10 focuses on likely yearly winners, accordingly, the list includes some of the best companies in the market, but this is not always so. ICInsider.com ranks stocks based on projected earnings, allowing investors to focus on the most undervalued stocks and helping to remove emotions in selecting stocks for investments that often result in costly mistakes.
IC TOP10 stocks will likely deliver the best returns on or around May 2025 and are ranked in order of potential gains, computed using projected earnings for the current fiscal year. Expected values will change as stock prices fluctuate, resulting in weekly movements in and out of the lists. Revisions to earnings are ongoing, based on receipt of new information.
