The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-02-06
A REACTION IN STOCKS
SHARES FOR SALE IN BUNDLES AND
PRICES BEGIN TO SLUMP.
Bank Reserves Show Decrease First
Time in Nearly Two MOnths-LOcaI
Business Not satisfactory.

At New York Saturday money on call
was steady at 21s per cent.
Prime mercantile paper, 2hzd3A per cent.
Sterling exchange frmer, with actual bust
ness in bankers bills at $4.s5A44651a for de-
mand and at $4.SS14G4.S9A for sixty days;
posted rates, $4S4q4SHa and $4.S6q4S61&;
commercial bills, $4.S21a.
Silver certificates. 59hQ6Okc; bar silver,
$3.50; Mexican dollars, 47c. At London bar
silver was dull, at 273sd an ounce.
The gold and silver movement at New
York for the week ending Saturday was:
Exports of gold, $685., 2S6; of silver, 1910, 35O;
imports of gold, $576,S22; of silver, $S2, 256.
The imports of dry goods and general mer-
chandise at New York for the week were
valued at $7,S56,S1O.
The New York weekly bank statement
shows the following changes:
Surplus reserve, decrease ........... 81, 1895
Loans, increase ...........'.''..''' 4o'194' 4V
Specie, increase 3a2Zg9
Legal tenders, decrease ............. 900,CVO
Deposits, increase ................ $3.50, 600
Circulation. decrease ................ 30, 400
The banks now hold $3S, 452, SIS in excess
of the requirements of the % per cent. rule.
The New York Financier says: 1.-The
statement of the associated banks of New
York city for the week ending Feb. 4 shows
a decrease in surplus reserve Of 81, 779,350, the
first contraction noted since Dec. 10. The
shrinkage, in view of the enormous expan-
sion in loans and deposits, is moderate, be-
ing offset TO a degree by the gain of 81
SIG, 800 in cash reported. The statement
seems to reflect in a belated way the ac-
tivity of stock speculations and probably
deals with the previous weeks business as
much as with the current operations. The
increase of SIS, 154, 400 in loans, for example,
cannot altogether be charged to the past
week, as the volume of exchange transact
lions fell off appreciably. The gain in de-
posits amounted to SIS, 3S5, 900, which is about
normal, taking the cash and loan expansion
into consideration. The actual expansion of
cash is less than had been figured, but
it is doubtful if the averages reveal
interior. A detailed analysis, in fact, shows
that one bank gained over five millions in
specie. which is almost twice as much as
the net gain reported by all the banks. Spe-
cial operations and shifting of funds doubt
less have had much to do in bringing this
about. Taken as a whole, the statement is
favorable. Never before have the totals APP
preached such figures as are now being re-
ported, but, despite the unprecedented eX-
pansion of loans and deposits, the banks are
carrying $38 ,452,675 idle cash and, with re-
ports overbalancing disbursements, there
seems no limit to their power to meet the
demands made upon them. AS a matter of
fact, the New York clearing institutions
have doubled their business in a little over
two years, and still have surplus reserve
beyond the average. The current statement
may have the effect of temporarily Stimu-
lating the money market, but it is too much
to expect, even with an expansion in totals
such as the weeks operations reveal, that
rates can maintain an advance. 1t will re-
quire a much more appreciate reduction of
surplus to bring about a change of that
character"
Total sales of stocks Saturday reached
456, 500 shares, including 1850 Atchison, &c.
rOO A a. ~-AFanna1 Q ~ TNa@AIa CT
ern, $3.50 Central Pacific, 1850 Chesapeake
& Ohio, 10, 16 Burlington, 1876 Cleveland.
Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis, 1925 Den
yer & Rio Grande, $3.50 Lake Erie & West
ern preferred, 1870 Louisville 81 Nashville,
1880 Manhattan, Is, $50 Metropolitan, APO
Reading preferred, q, 1876 New York Central,
10, 100 Northern Pacific, ASS Northern Pacific
preferred, 4,720 Rock Island, 1850 ST. Louis
q San Francisco second preferred, II, APO
Union Pacific, 10, $50 Union Pacific preferred,
49, 40 st. Paul, $40 Southern Pacific, $3.50
Southern Pacific preferred, 6,141 Paper. 5,4O0
1920 Peoples Gas, $3.50 Consolidated Gas,
1888 Brooklyn Transit, 1920 Pacific Mail,
10,76O Sugar, $3.50 Tennessee Coal and Iron,
400 St: Louis q Southwestern preferred,
$3.50 Chicago Great Western.
SOME REACTIONS.
The New York stock market was strong
the greater part of the day Saturday, but
early gains were lost and prices receded I'M
til they had made a slight net loss on the
day. The bank statement showed a surplus
decrease of one and three-quarters million
dollars, which was the ostenSible reason for
prices running off in the late dealings. Lon
don was purchaser in the New York market
and the tone there for American securities
ended firm. Locally there was continuance
Of purchases by large interests noted Friday,
and round amounts Of short contracts were
stocks, including New York Central and
pennsylvania, gave strength to the rest of
Central was to operate the West Shore Rail-
road more directly and that a separate or
SANITATION would be maintained only as far
as the West Shore board was concerned.
Among the other stocks showing %conspic-
uous strength on the rise were Wheeling a.
Lake Erie preferred, Northwest, Rio Grande
Canada Southern, Cleveland, Cincinnati,
Chicago & st. Louis. and Southwestern pre-
ferred, which rose from l to 2 points. Met
ropolitan advanced 8 points, Of which it re-
tSined 3; Third Avenue jumped liz, of
which 1t lost AZ and Consolidated Gas and
Brooklyn Union Gas retained 3A and 212
respectively OF large advances. In explana-
tton of the strength in these stocks it was
said that Metropolitan was to absorb Third
Avenue. This, however. was denied. and the
Purchases of Metropolitan were said to be
based on results expected from the opera
ton of extensions about completed. The
strength of the gas stocks was on a con-
tinuance of consolidation talk. Great
Northern preferred held Z points of an even
greater rise on lntlmatlons of a possible
distribution of assets to stockholders. In
ternational Silver gained 3$sc on the day.
| Lake Erie & Western preferred dropped 6
points on being relegated to the non
dlVidend-pay1ng ranks, but recovered more
than half of the loss. The common stock
showed sympathetic weakness early, but re-
covered and ended with a fractional adj
vance. In the reaction ensuing on the APP
pearance of the bank statement special
weakness was shown by Manhattan. Read
ing first preferred, New York Central. Penn
Sylvania, the grangers, Northern Pacific,
Missouri Pacific, Southern Pacific, Atchi-
son preferred, Federal Steel, Brooklyn Tran
sit and Sugar. The bank statement, which
affected sentiment adversely, was a surprise
in several respects. The increase of some
SIS in the loan account was not due
to routine transactions, but was attributed
to the financing of a number of deals of
great magnitude in railway projects and in
dUstrial combinations. Then again extern
sive credit was said to have been given to
foreign sellers, who were obliged to borrow
until the securities reached here from
abroad.
Trading in stocks for the week left prices
lower for the more prominent shares. The
volume of business was contracted COM
pared with the large dealings of late, but
were still much greater than at this time in
other years. For instance, they were more
than twice as large as those of last year
and eight times greater than those of 1897.
Money continued in abundant supply, unaf-
fected by a number of great deals that were
being financed, and February dividend
and interest requirements. Reports
from various sections continued to
indicate~a prosperous condition in many in
d~ustries, with advancing prices for iron
products and cotton goods and a better tone
in the wooden industry. Railway reports
were generally gratifying. The most i'm