Business
Jamaica stock market posts positive results
The good performance is good news since it signals high investor confidence.
The Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE), widely regarded as a critical barometer of investor confidence, recorded increases in all its indices for the June 2011 quarter, relative to the previous quarter and for the similar period last year.
Data contained in the latest Quarterly Monetary Policy Report (QMPR) of the Bank of Jamaica (BoJ) indicated that except for the cross listed index, which captures companies listed on the regional exchanges, all JSE indices recorded higher growth for April to June, with the Junior Market Index recording the sharpest increase of 35.9 percent relative to a decline of 3.8 percent for the March quarter.
The report noted that the improved performance of the indices was also reflected in the acceleration of the volume of stocks traded; a slower rate of decline in the value of transactions; and a positive outturn for the advance-to-decline ratio during the review quarter.
“For the quarter, the volume of stocks traded grew by 22.8 percent relative to 2.0 percent in the previous quarter. The value of transactions declined marginally by 1.8 percent, following a sharp reduction of 23.4 percent for the March 2011 quarter. Also, for the June 2011 quarter, the advance-to-decline ratio was 25:10 compared to a ratio of 17:16 for the prior quarter,” the report stated.
