Birmingham state herald., 1897-07-06
Inv all Sfrees.

InWall Stree,.
 New York, July 3.-Dealings were small on the stock exchange today in the aggre- gate, and about one-third of the small total was absorbed by tobacco, in which there was heavy selling and a notable decline in prices. A half days session of Ghe stock exchange preceding an interval of two days suspension of trading would naturally account for the dullness in
 part. Many dealTs and brokers left town today and tock no part in trading today at all. The decline in activity to- day, however, cannot all be at ributed to the fact that two days suspension of trading is to follow The heavy llquida- tion in tobacco, sharp decline in Ten-t nessee Coal and Iron and the influence of the lower prices for American securities in London affected the tone of the mar ket and were added -o as far as possible by the bear ontingent. Manipulation for the decline and short selling were quite palpable and proved effective. NsVeTthe- less, there was not lacking evidence of a ref1ux of confidence in the general out look for business improvement. These showed no wide recessions notwithstand- ing the heavy zone of the, market outside, Of thetwo special cases mentioned and Reading first preferred, the latter stock closing point lower. Tobacco saggsd at one tin.e 312 points below yesterdays close, and closed at 74A, which is rally Of 4. Tennessee oal and Iron fell 22s and recovered only the fraction of that figure, the weakness being due to reports of labor troubles with the company's employees. Brooklyn Rapid Transit was a marked exception to this general weak ness and gained 1% closing strong at the top. Rio Grande Western preferred also showed further advance of points,
 The refiux of confidence in the general outlook for business indicated as being factor today, has been manifest during the week. The recognized organs in the iron and steel industry have expre ssed a degree of dissatisfaction with the prog ress making toward improvement in that business.
 The strike of coal miners in the bitum- inous coal districts of Pennsylvania Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana and Illinois has grown in impressiveness to the minds of security holders. The soft coal indus try itself and the railroads which trans port its products have been recognized as drag on general improvement and the prospect of further Reorganization and demoralization in the industry is re- garded as serious drawback to indus trials in the revival. These facts came to reinforce the argument as constantly harped upon by the bears during the pe- riod of the pres mt advance in stocks that prices of securities were out-stripping the Improvement in business. As a re- suit the week has witnessed the culnlin- ation for the time being at least, of the advance in prices of securities and the four clearly defined reaction since the movement set in, over month ago.. The market has, however, retained large degree of steadiness and even firmnss in many leading stocks. Monday and Tues day saw the heaviness transactions on the stock exchange of any day since that following the election last fall On Mon day all offerings seemed to be well ab- sorbed and the selling seemed nothing more than the professional profit taking which has ben a feature at intervals of the steady advance in stocks. But Tues days transactions made 1t evident that the buying which has led the advance, had, to large extent, 1iquidated it's hold ings and was not prepared at once to buy for another upward step in the market. St. Paul, the leader of the market all week in point of activity, and enormous speculative holdings in Burlington have been sold out and transferred to St. Paul. The weekly statement of gross earnings of St. Paul have shown an excess for each week in June over the correspond- ing period in any year since 1883. For the fourth week in June, the earnings report ed yesterday are in excess of the corre- spending week for any year in the his tory of the road. St. Paul's net gain on the month is 1h and BurHngton's net loss is nearly equal, the former stock having overtaken and crossed the latter in price and closing the week at the same price. The statement of both roads for May was also notably good The returns of most of the railroad companies of the country continue to show improvements.
 A feature of the week has been the de- cline in sterling exchange to below the point which gold exports are profitable, even with the considera ton amounting to a premium, which is stiM offered for gold in Europe. A special order for $500000 in gold, which was received from Europe on Thursday, found no takers. | It is the general belief of exchange and | specie export houses that this marks the 1 termination of the exporting gold move msnt for this eyar. The growth of bank clearlngs in June indicates an increased activity in business, though it is to be l noted that the increase of banks outside New York is, according to the Financial Chronicle, only 1 per cent over last year, while for New York city the increase is | per cent, supposed to be largely due to stock speculation. Deposits ffl New | York clearing house banks are several | million in excess of the highes st previous | record, and currency continues to move | to this centre. But the weeks expan- sion in loans of these banks is $3. 137, 900 | greater than the expansion in the de- | posits for the same period. This indi- | cates a step towards the absorption of | the surplus idle unds in New York banks which has glutted the money market fo | which has glutted the money market for many months and reduces the excess of | deposits over loans. which last week | reached 55.413.000 by the amount stated. | Net changes for the week in the stock | market are mostly losses in the active | shares. but they only reach as high as a | point in few shares. Tobacco is off | 3A Bay State gas and Chicago and | Festern Illinois preferred 2h. On the | other hand, sugar Is up 2, Rio Grande | preferred 8A; Rio Grande cornrnon 5h l East River gas preferred 5. chioa go and