Trading closed Friday on the Jamaica Stock Exchange with a rise in the volume of stocks exchanged, with a greater value than on Thursday, resulting in the Main Market major indices and the Junior Market index slipping and the JSE USD Market climbing. At the end of trading, prices of 40 shares rose, 40 declined and 27 remained firm.
At the close of the market, the JSE Combined Market Index dropped 2,679.12 points to end at 317,246.10, the All Jamaican Composite Index shed 3,060.37 points to end at 352,975.93, the JSE Main Index dipped 2,752.72 points to finish at 306,271.41, the Junior Market Index slipped by 6.73 points to 3,403.06 and the JSE USD Market Index gained 5.95 points to finish at 210.93.
At the close of heighted trading session, 21,079,283 shares were exchanged in all three markets, up from 10,542,446 units on Thursday, with the value of stocks traded on the Junior and Main markets amounting to $117.07 million, up from $89.42 million on the previous day and the JSE USD market closed with an exchange of 2,482,008 shares for US$72,123, up from just 129,045 units at US$17,826 on Thursday.
In Main Market activity, Wigton Energy led trading with 3.97 million shares, followed by Transjamaican Highway with 3.64 million stocks and NCB Financial with 1.78 million units.
In Junior Market trading, Mailpac Group led with 2.94 million shares, followed by MFS Capital Partners with 712,006 stocks and Derrimon Trading with 357,372 units.
In the preference segment, 138 Student Living preference share jumped $25.99 to finish at $221, Productive Business Solutions 10.5% dropped $20 and ended at $1,040 and Sygnus Credit Investments C10.5% increased $4.70 to $110.
The market’s PE ratio, the most popular measure used to value stocks, ended at 13.5 based on 2024-25 earnings and 16 based on 2024 earnings.
The ICInsider.com PE ratio chart and the more detailed daily charts provide investors with regularly updated data to help decision-making.
The PE ratio chart covers all the ordinary shares listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange and grouped by industry and allows for easy comparisons within a sector and the overall market. The earnings per share (EPS) and PE ratios are based on 2024 and 2025 actual or projected earnings, excluding any major one-time income or expense.
Pertinent information is required to navigate numerous investment options successfully in the stock market. The chart should be used in making rational decisions when investing in stocks close to the sector average, 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.