The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-03-26
EtmalciWI.

m. ntuck Market Continues to Weaken.
 New York, March 25,-To-d days clos ing prices were the lowest in most cases since the Cuban question became dominant factor in the situation. Twenty active shares averaged lower than at any time this year and govern ment new fours coupon were down to HIS S-4 bid. This was on the assump- tion that new issues were possible if expenditures for war purposes contin- ued long. Before the battleship Maine
 was blown up they were quoted above 12S It was freely predicted that the Maine report would be extremely un- favorable. The market opened with quotations slightly below yesterdays final figures. The bears, however, were determined to bring about a sub- stantially lower level and hammered many of the leading stocks vigorously in an endeavor to precipitate liquida- tion. The local transportation shares and Sugar were the most vulnerable | points of attack and the extreme weak 1 ness in those specialties was soon com municated elsewhere. Numerous stop loss orders were executed and the mar | ket for a time took on very animat- | ed appearance with losses ranging be- 1 tween and points during the first half hours operations. Purchases for | London accounts and an effort on the l part of some traders to rally prices gave steadier tone which, however, | was accompanied by extreme stagna- | tion. As the day progressed the mark ct dipped frequently, but there was an ] absence of features iri the general | speculation until the final hour when 1 extensive liquidation set in which de- 1 pressed the bulk of the high priced
 specialties to the lowest figures of the day. The efforts of the bears to de- press prices were aided by judiciously distributed tips that there would be an l attack on the list in the late trading. | Washington houses were sellers and
 it was inferred that they might have l some intimation of the nature of the l Maine report The local specialties | were conspicuously weak, Third Ave- l nue losing 10 per cent. There was a l published story that a scrip dividend | | in order to increase the company's stock capitalization sufficiently to per- | init the lawful issue of new bonds in payment for recently acquired lines. l Metropolitan Street Railway lost 1-2 I Manhattan 3-S and Consolidated Gas l 5-S. Sugar was down 1-s partly on
 fear of the proximity of increased com | petition in the trade. The steady de- l cline in this stock tended to color re- | cent reports that inside support has l been withdrawn for the time being. l The break in Northern Pacific pfd of 1 i 1-2 accompanied as it was by weak
 ness in Canadian Pacific was taken to l indicate something unfavorable as forthcoming in regard to the rate war. | New York Central and the grangers 1 showed little resistance to attack. l There was a further engagement for import of moderate amount of gold l making the total of the present move
 ment including that from Australia i nearly 33,000,000. The foreign exchange market exhibited heaviness to-day and | some concessions were noticed in rates, posted figures in one instance being | lowered 1-2 cent. This incident is re-
 garded in measure as presaging a further influx of gold.
 Quotations for railway mortgages
 continued to sag on light offerings
 which for the most part consisted of
 the unusually active speculative liens.
 The total transactions were s1,100,000. Government bonds displayed ex-
 trerne weakness, the new fours coupon
 and regular old fours coupon yielding
 per cent in the bid price; the old
 fours regular suffered to the extent of
 1-2 and the lives coupon and regular
 lost IA each.
 Following are the closing prices re-
 ported by Prince & Whitely, bankers
 and Brokers, 46 Broadway, New York,
 and 15 Center street. New Haven:
 Bid. Asked.