The news & observer., 1896-12-24
But Held in Check by Eager
Unloading by Longs.
SCORED 3 POINTS NET GAIN
Wheat Frightened Up l-2
Cents on Firmer Cables.
a HOLIDAY STOCK. MARKET
Dragging Day With Professional Trad
mg--Tobacco Gained 2 Points ons
Prediction of 2Per Cent 0ivi-
dend Next Week.

New \ OrE, Dec. @.s.~~4 uE IbtNoh
ket opened firm at an advance of SGl2
points on better cables and further ad-
vance OF 2u3 point on foreign buying
and local covering, following ssill better
cables. The market, however,s eased off
under liquidation promoted by; New Or
leans selling, receipts still being heavy.
The close was quiet and steady at a net
advance of 800 points, about egdS points
below the top prices of the day. The
bullish temper of cables checked further
selling and led to considerable. covering.
E. b. CUTHBERT & Co.
New York, Dec. % (Speciaa) Cotton
opened up firllfand advanced ten to
eleven points to T.0S for Marca and Z %
for May, ON the tirmer and higher Liver
pool markets. The speculation: however,
was not strong enough to absorb the real
ization sales this advance brought out
and hold the Improvement @nd prices
slowly receded Liverpool reacted and
lost two points of its early advance clos
ing barely steady and this witss the con-
tinued absence of outside speculation and
poor trade reports from Eall River led to
a continually easy feeling in the after
noon. The closing prices were st the low
est at seven cents for March asld 7.15 for
May eight points off from thestop prices
and but three points over last n9ghts clos
ing. Nothing new has developed i'll the
crop situation, the news FROM the South
being of the usual routine ord.,r, port re-
ceipts aggregating 1866 against 46,26S
last week and "a, 445 last year
WHEAT
Wheat developed further strength to-
day on frner and higher cables, light
| receipts and continued liberal clearances
| Prices opened up Il cent and advanced
| one cent additional to Sis FOR May in
| Chicago. There was good :buying by
| shorts and local operators inauenced by
the strong cables and continued good
sales of -four and s revival 9f cash de-
mand for wheat for milling purposes at
|. st. Louis and other points in: the West.
| There was the usual realizing sales but
| the market absorbed them andclosed firm
at S1A, within rs OF the highest and one
cent over last nights closings
STOCKS. I;
The stock market showed nD new feat
| ures of special importance to-day. The
trading was light and OF holiday
| character, with the bulk OF tae business.
confined to the room traders lin evening
! up their accounts. There were no impor-
tant news developments and Isothing spe
cial in the gossip 10 influence new busi-
| ness and the market dragged along from
start TO finish with prices influenced by
the operations of the professional trad
ers. The coal stocks rallied from their
depression of yesterday and: Delaware
and Hudson recovered 21Ia per:cent of the
decline, selling up to 1.20 on covering
of shorts on an official deIial by the
President of the company thaS there was
any authority for the rumora circulated
,, yesterday that the eompany's dividends
will be reduced. He says the matter has
not even been discussed yet and nothing
will be known in regard to tie dividend
until the directors meeting In the latter
part OF the first week in January. Read
ing and Jersey Central rallied in sympa-
thy with it. Leather and Tobacco were
the other notably strong stocks and the
former advanced IA per cent and the
latter per cent. Leatherss advance
, was on manipulation by insiders and like
wise that of tobacco only that the tobac-
co movement was accompanied by reports
that the directors will meet next week
and declare regular quarterly dividend
OF per cent on the stock. Nothing def
mite can be obtained on this point. Later
the stock declined on realigiag. Outside
of these features. the only :noteworrhy
movement in the list was raid on the
Vanderhlts by bear traders who detect
ed small selling order in both, aseribed
to the discussion of dividend probabili-
ties agitated by the action taken yester-
day an reducing Canada Soushern's divi-
dend. On this New York Central declin-
ed 2 per cent to 90 y and T.. s., per cent
TO 153. The close OF the market was
quiet and irregular and showing no de-
eided tendency in either direction
E. B. CUTHBERT & co.