The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-03-05
STOCK PRICES FELL OFF
INANIMATE MARKET AT TIMES AND
LEADING SHARES WEAK.
Uncertain News Made More Uneasiness
on Account of Cuban Question
Local Trade Active.

At New York. yesterday, money on call
was firm at 2a213 per cent: last loan. g
Prime mercantile paper, 404ls per cent.
Sterling exchange was weak. with actual
business in bankers bills at s4.S4ls for de-
mand and at $4s115G4S1a4 for sixty days;
posted rates, $4.s394.s51z; commercial bills,
$4.S0A.
Silver certificates. 5s1S@545sa; bar silver,
sac: Mexican dollars 45c At London bar
silver closed steady at 2514d an ounce.
Total sales of stocks, SO1 500 shares, includ-
ing: Baltimore & Ohio 4,224; Chicago Err
lington & Quincy. 1895; Louisville & Nash
I vile, 1850: Manhattan q, 500; Metropolitan,
7,1S5; Reading preferred, 5.1S5: Missouri Pa
cifc, 342; New York Central 1884; North
ern Pacific preferred, 1860; Reading, 3.0l7;
Rock Island, 11,77O; St. Paul, 2S,565; Union
Pacific. 1855; Tobacco, 500; Peoples Gas,
1910; Sugar. 1891.
Prices of stocks showed losses Of from l
to per cent. on New York Change yester-
day on very small business. The market
was quite inanmate at times and what
business there was was concentrated in a
few leading stocks. All of these showed
weakness, but the downward course was
pursued in very desultory manner until
the final hour, when the bears made de-
termined drive. They broke the price of
Reading first preferred points and carried
the general list to the lowest of the day,
but covering in special stocks induced some
sharp rallies, notably in Reading first pre-
ferred, New York Central and Metropolitan
| Street-railway. Higher quotations from
| London lifted the level of prices at the
| opening, but the fall was practically unin-
| terrupted afterwards. Efforts to rally the
market were feeble and unsuccessful. Sugar
1ln6pr cOnGinPra hlA showed
good resistance. Union Pacific preferred
was depressed all day and closed over two
points lower New York Central fell at one
time over points. but rallied IL in the
final dealings. The local New York traction
extreme decline in Metropolitan Street-raiI-
way reaching nearly six points. The
grangers also figured largely in the selling.
A large part OF this selling was known to
be for. Washington account and inquiry was
very keen for news to account for 1t.
Significant news was scarce and in it's alb
sence numerous rumors were set af1oat, one
to the effect that purchases of war ships
abroad had been made by the United States
government. The renewed depression Of
Spanish securities abroad and the news of
the purchase in England of two war ships
by the Spanish government helped on the
feeling of uneasiness over the Cuban Ques-
ton. London operations in this market
were insignificant, the tightness of money
in London having apparently put stop to
speculative activity here. Notwithstanding
the hardness of London money rate and the
tendency to relaxation in the local New
1OIh exchange went
lower again, demand sterling falling to
$4S41s. Nearly all the 81, 900 in gold which
will start for New York to-day comes from
Paris and no small part of ii is said to rep
resent French payment for American
curities bought in London during the recent
disturbances in Paris. The weakness in ex-
change is due to the continued pressure
of grain bills sold against the shipments of
the Chicago wheat pool.
The bond market was listless and heavy
in sympathy with stocks. Total sales
81 600. United States new fours and the
old fours. coupon. were Il lower bid.
The following table, prepared by L. W.
Louis, Room II. Board of Trade, shows the
| range of quotations.