The San Francisco call., 1899-05-06
BRADsTREETs FINANCIAL REVIEW.

NEW YORK, May 5.-Bradstreet's financial
review tomorrow will say:
Both the temper and tendencies of the stock
market have varied considerably this week
The activity was not striking and there was an
increased preponderance of manipulation, with
a shrinkage in the commission house business.
More or less lack of unison between the various
parts of the list was observed the standard
railroad shares being generally dull or heavy.
and the chief strength confined to the
steel stocks and the Flower specialties while
gas securities the anthracite group and sugar
were the leading examples OF positive weak
ness. At the beginning of the week a down
ward movement of some consequence seemed to
be at hand, based on the Ford franchise tax
bill just adopted by the New York Legislature
ana on the fear that the process of transferring
the S2oUO0,OOO Spanish indemnity to Europe
might lead to gold exports. to severe dis
turoances of the money market, but assurances
being given that the National City Bank of
New York and the Deutsch Bank of Berlin
which had undertaken the task of turning the
indemnity over to the Bank of SPAIN had vir-
tually financed. the operation in advance, and
eliminated danger of its unsettling the Nmeri-
can money market, speculation at once assumed
a more confident tone. The completion of the
May disbursements which had temporarily
reduced the supply OF funds in the money mar
ket, was another factor, while ii realized
that the Ford franchise tax law in New York
would not become operative for a year. The
rally which the stock market exhibited was led
by the Flower stocks Brooklyn Rapid Transit
including the gas companies, showed the effect
of decided manipulatiVe support. The chief
bullish demonstrations We're. however. in the
steel and iron stocks, National Steel. American
Steel and Wire and American Steel Hoop shares
responding to the reports that a plan is foot
to combine those and other similar properties
with the Carnegie steel industries. The heavi-
of gas stocks due to the outbreak of ViO-
lent competitive cutting of prices by the New
York local companies. however hardly affected
the general list, and the renewed weakness
which made its appearance on Thursday was
attributed largely to the bearish tendency of
the London market. The foreigners had. on the
whole, seemed inclined to buy during the early
part of the week, but break in the Kaffr
mining market and a poor Bank Of England re-
turn resulted in pronounced selling, which had
its effect on the standard railroad stocks al
ready rendered dull by the continued uncer-
tainty about crop results and prospects and the
probability of poor net earnings returned by the
leading granger roads for the month Of March.
Another incident was a ten point break in
American Sugar accompanying reports that the
effort to secure adjustment of the trade war
has fallen through though support rallied the
stock from the lowest. AS whole the market
presented a much more irregular appearance.
and though manipulative. support by a large
interest is Conspicuously present, II does not
compensate for the disappearance of the former
heavy public buying power. nor altogether over
come the renewed tendency of the board room
professionals and their leaders to act the
short side of the account from time to time