The herald., 1897-04-25
ON CHANGE
What Was Done Yesterday on Wall
Street

NEW YORK, April 24.-The dullness of
the trading continued today and the market
sagged from inaction. The lower prices of
American securities on the London ex-
change give the tone to the opening here
where prices of the international shares
promptly adjusted themselves to the Lon
don parity. excepting the cases of Read
ing and Southern preferred. These two
stocks were an exception on the London
exchange in showing fractional gains over
the New York closing. New York de-
clined to adopt the London view of them
and they sold here at a decline about pro-
portional with the other internationals.
Advices from the European exchanges in
dicated more serious view of the war
ing on Tuesday after the Easter holi-
days and the outbreak of hostilities.
Consols were off small fraction and
sistently belittled the Greek claims ad-
mitted serious reverses to the Turks The
decline in the internationals was in con-
sonance with the rise in wheat, consist
emily with Wall streets new principle of
counting hurtful to stocks what is bene-
fetal to grain prices. Fol. the rest the
were exceedingly scarce and were con-
fined to peculiar conditions affecting par
ticular stocks. The bears attacked Mis-
souri, Pacific with renewed stories of finan-
cial difficulties and probably of q receiv-
ership. The stock rallied slightly from the
decline on official denials of these rumors
but the net loss on the day amounted to
IL. Consolidated gas was affected by the
continued agitation for legal restrictions
on the price of gas to 81 and fell two points
without rallying. There was slight rally
in the list at one time but the selling pres
sure was resumed and prices declined to
the close. The average net loss was
sharp fraction, American spirits spirit. and
Omaha being an exception with gains;
Minnesota iron sold at A against 4S bid
yesterday, and closed at 43 bid. The
course of the stock market during the
,s.rl.t lx. ,oy-t-xA ~ a
decline on Monday on the first trading after
the news of actual outbreak of war on the
Macedonian frontier, a rally which car
ried prices above the level of the previous
Saturday, and succeeding stagnation show
ed little variation and transactions re-
duced to the smallest proportion. So far as
any general influence on the market was
concerned, interest has centered entirely
in the war news. New Yorks experience
on Monday was unique. The. stock ex-
change here was the only market for Sc
ourities of frst-rate Importance in the
world that remained open The London and
continental exchanges were all closed in
accordance with their custom of observ-
ing Easter Monday as holiday. The
market crisis caused by the outbreak of
was centered in New York and this market
had to bear the burden r,,ish OF the cnls worid
that unfailing barometer of safety, had
been attainable since Thursday preceding.
New York. was therefore cropping some
what blindly for an accurate indication of
the real Importance attached to the new
turn of affairs by European financiers:
Bearing in mind the prophecies that had
been indulged in by European statesmen OF
the disastrous results which would likely
follow the failure of the concert of the
powers to avert war between Turkey and
Greece. it is not surprising that New
York overdid the selling of stocks on Mon
day. Prices slumped to a sensational de-
gree 1t was not until Tuesday that New
York allowed itself to be convinced that
its fears regarding the immediate conse-
quences of the war had been exaggera--
ted. The railway and miscellaneous bond
markets ruled fairly active during the
week Business in governments was ex-
tremely light and fluctuations narrow with
a good undertone. Silver certificates rose
TO 62ss on purchases of 1000 ounces, but
subsequently receded below last week S
close on the bid quotations.