BUSINESS MONDAY: Trading volumes up, values down – report

TRADING volumes on the Barbados Stock Exchange (BSE) were up by more than 300 per cent, but values were down by 18 per cent during the first half of 2019.

That’s the story of share trading on the Exchange between January and June this year when compared to the same period a year ago.

Stock market data show trading volume of 13.1 million shares having crossed the floor of the BSE’s Regular market during the review period.

That amount compared to 3.1 million units having been traded a year earlier. “This represents a 322 per cent improvement in trading volume,” according to the BSE report, which is usually analysed by the investing community.

“Unfortunately, the upsurge in activity on the regular market volumes did not transfer to the value traded as there was an 18 per cent decline,” the Exchange officials have said in their report.

Total regular market value was $10.8 million at June 2019, down from the $13.1 million reported at June 2018.

However, other key indices did show improvements.

The Stock Market Index, which is one of the main barometers for assessing a stock market, increased to 3.232.40 points at June this year, from 2.739.07 last year.

Local market capitalisation rebounded from $6.6 billion last year to $7.1 billion this year. In addition, the composite market capitalisation, made up of both the Local and Cross Listing, was $8.1 billion as at June 2019 when compared to the $6.9 billion at June 2018.