Equities market inches up during March quarter

Underpinned by easing monetary conditions and renewed investor confidence

Durrant Pate/ Contributor

Jamaica’s equities market improved slightly during the March 2026 quarter despite escalating geopolitical conflict in the Middle East. 

Data from the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) shows that gains were made across the major Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) indices ranged from 0.2 per cent to 11.9 per cent, in the March 2026 quarter, reversing declines ranging between 0.8 per cent and 4.3 per cent in the prior quarter. Specifically, the JSE Main Index and JSE Combined Index increased by 8.8 per cent and 8.2 per cent, respectively, for the March 2026 quarter. 

This compares to declines of 2.2 per cent and 2.1 per cent, respectively, in the December 2025 quarter. The Junior Market index, which measures the performance of smaller emerging companies, grew by 0.2 per cent for the review period, following a contraction of 0.8 per cent in the previous quarter.

Annualised stock market performance 

The annualised performance of the domestic stock market also reflected increases across most major indices except for the JSE Junior Market Index and the JSE Cross Listed Index for the year ended March 2026. Notably, the JSE Main Market index increased by 4.8 per cent, compared with an expansion of 0.7 per cent for the same period in 2025. 

Conversely, the JSE Junior Market index declined by 7.2 per cent, relative to a decline of 5.2 per cent in the corresponding period of 2025. The improvement in stock market performance in the March 2026 quarter reflected recovery from hurricane‑related disruptions in late 2025, underpinned by easing monetary conditions and renewed investor confidence as economic activity normalised.

During the review quarter, foreign currency investments, proxied by Government of Jamaica (GOJ )Global Bonds, recorded a weaker performance relative to domestic currency-denominated equity investments. Specifically, foreign currency investments yielded a quarterly return of 0.7 per cent, compared with a return of 8.8 per cent for equities in the March 2026 quarter.

In contrast, private money market instruments provided stable returns of 1.5 per cent in the March 2026 quarter, unchanged from the December 2025 quarter. Key market activity indicators for the JSE Main Index reflected mixed results for the March 2026 quarter. 

Notably, during the March 2026 quarter, the values traded and the number of transactions increased by 7.2 per cent and 29.8 per cent, respectively, while the volumes traded declined by 3.1 per cent. This outcome compares to an increase of 3.9 per cent in the number of transactions and a decline of 10.3.

Post‑hurricane stabilisation and recovery 

Expectations of post‑hurricane stabilisation and recovery likely supported increased portfolio allocation toward domestic equities during the review period. In addition, at the micro level, the improvement in equity market performance during the March 2026 quarter was also supported by improved profitability among select listed companies, strengthened dividend expectations in the volumes and values traded, respectively for the March 2026 quarter. 

The improvement in the stock market performance was also reflected in the advance-to-decline ratio for the stocks listed on the JSE, which moved to 20:32 for the March 2026 quarter, from 18:31 with two holding firms from the previous quarter. Of note, stock price appreciation was largely concentrated in the Other category, while the Financial and Manufacturing sectors accounted for most of the declining stocks for the review period.