Durrant Pate/ Contributor

The Jamaican stock market is exhibiting a strong rebound from last week, coming into this week with most market indices advancing.

Yesterday, all but one of the major market indices advanced, similar to last week when eight of the nine Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) indices closed higher, reversing some of the broad-based declines in the local market for the month of April. 

The JSE Combined Market Index rose 1.01%, with 66 of the 127 stocks that traded advancing, 49 declining, and 12 remaining unchanged. 

The Cross-listed Index (+2.81%) and the Financial Index (+2.07%) were the week’s main advancers, while the USD Index (6.22%) was the sole decliner. The growth in the Cross-Listed Index was driven by Guardian Holdings, whose shares increased by 7.07% over the week.

Guardian’s increase likely reflects positive investor sentiment following a 31.7% increase in its audited profits for the year ending December 31, 2024, to TT$850.15 million, bolstered by stronger net insurance and investment income. 

Meanwhile, the Financial Index benefited from a 6.6% increase in NCB Financial Group’s share price alongside the gains in Guardian. As for the USD Index, its decline was driven primarily by a 19.92% decline from A.S. Bryden and Sons Holdings USD shares.