Jamaican investors traded $99 million in stocks on the market Thursday, but the 10.4 million units that changed ownership over the session was linked to only 10 stocks or about one-sixth of listed securities.

Mayberry Investments was the most active, but investors were more intent on selling the stock, sending the price down 15 cents to close at $2.45.

Mayberry was one of seven stocks losing value on Thursday, plunging the market down 1,576 points or 1.72 per cent to close at 91,077 points.

BNS variable preference was the only climber, adding 11 cents to close at $1.25, while Carerras and D&G held steady.

The all-Jamaican plunged 2,920 points or 3.19 per cent to close at 88,391, while the blue chip Select was down by 97 points to 2,394 points, a decline of 3.87 per cent.

At the end of the trading day, the market lost $12 million of value, and was capitalised at $680 billion.

Elsewhere in the region Trinidad's market closed down five points on the composite, while Barbados in light trading remained stable.

In the Latin American region, Latin American stocks staged a partial comeback Thursday after being battered a day earlier over fears that the region is being hit hard by the global economic slowdown.

Brazil's Ibovespa index led gainers, rising 4.1 per cent to 35,768 in afternoon trading, but the intraday advance did not erase a 7.8 per cent loss for shares of big Brazilian companies a day earlier.

And Brazil's currency fell against the dollar despite the sale of US $493 million in dollar swap contracts by the central bank to prop up the real.

Elsewhere in Latin America, Mexico's IPC index rose 1.3 per cent to 19,057 and Chile's IPSA was up 0.8 per cent to 2,496. Argentina's Merval index slipped 0.8 percent to 1,000 and Colombia's IGBC was down 0.5 per cent to 6,961.