Jamaica
25 stocks crossed the floor of the JSE, with an advance:decline ratio of 15:6. Barita Investments led the advancers, closing up 30.99%. The company is trading at 211% of its January 2011 price. Desnoes & Geddes gained 17.86%, while Kingston Wharves advanced 12.62%. Cable & Wireless Jamaica Limited declined the most, closing down 5.56%. Over three million units of that company exchanged hands, with the company ending the week as volume leader.

Barbados
Only three companies were active on the Regular Market of the BSE. A total of 42,654 shares traded, with the majority, 72.8%, being Fortress Caribbean Property Fund. Cable & Wireless Barbados Ltd and Insurance Corporation of Barbados also traded. 1,426 units of two companies traded on the Odd-Lot Market. All companies traded firm for the week, resulting in no movement in the Indexes.

International
The S&P 500 Index rose a mere 0.07% for the week, extending its 2012 gain to 4.7%. The Index advanced early in the week, but the gains were trimmed later, following weaker-than-expected new home sales and U.S. gross domestic product data released. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.5%. The market was also moved by an announcement by the Federal Reserve, of plans to keep interest rates low through at least 2014.
Oil futures rose 1.3% this week, the highest level since August, driven by speculation that refinery outages and plant closures will cut supplies. One of the large refineries being shut down is located in St. Croix in the USVI, and has a capacity of 350,000 barrels per day. The Hosvena refinery, jointly owned by Hess Corporation and Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, has recorded over US$1.5 billion in losses over the last three years. Over 2,000 employees will be affected by the shutdown.