The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-04-21
ON THE STOCK EXCHANGE.
Industrials Furnish Sensation of the
Week in Wall Street.


New York, April 20.-BradstreePs
financial review tomorrow will say:
This week the iridustriaIs furnished the
sensational element in the stock mar
ket. Their unSteadinesS for some time
back in the face Of the rising tendency
Of railroad shares has already been
fully referred to and it cannot be said
that Wall street is altogether unpre-
pared for decline in this portion of
the market. What surprised and dis
mayed the speculative public in con-
nectlon with the severe break in
American Steel & Wire stocks and the
other steel industrials was the appar-
emily well founded reports that the
closing down of some of the cornpany's
mills, though perhaps warranted by
business conditions growing out of
overproduction and decreased con-
sumption at the prevalent high prices.
was attended by heavy selling of both
the common and preferred stocks by
inside interests.
In fact even if the declines in finish
ed steel products furnished a proper
cause for the action of the manage
ment in its suspending operations for
the time being, it was promptly con-
eluded that the manner In which this
was done and the sudden nature of the
announcement left little doubt as to
the speculative reason behind the
movement. Under the circumstances
particularly as there were prompt con-
firmations Of the reported concessions
in steel prices generally, all of the iron
and steel stocks, with few exceptions
shared more or less in the general
break and We're only rallied by heavy
covering of short contracts.
The railroad share list which at first
was inclined TO hold its ground in the
face Of the decentralization of the
industrials. developed more or less ir-
regularity and weakness, which was
natural in view Of the rather severe
liquidation Of speculative accounts in
the leading steel stocks. In spite Of
the persistent manipulation Of the
Southwestern and Pacific stocks reaIiz-
ing sales set in on a large scale and
prices generally tended to sell off
London's activity in the market was
on a more restricted sale although the
market there apparently realized that
the difficulty in Wall street related only
to the industrials. and had no actual
bearing on railroad earnings or divi-
dend prospects,
After the London market reopened
on Tuesday from its Easter recess
there was some selling by foreign
houses. but later on the European
participation. although mixed in char
acter was in the main in the direction
of further purchases rather than of
sales. The continued weakness of the
London money market and the marked
tendency of exchange rates here to
advance continue to attract some at
tention although the money market is
not influenced by the prospect Of gold
shipments in the near future to such
an extent as it doubtless would be if
it we're not believed that the further
expansion Of the national bank cir
culation now in progress will assure
easy money in American markets for
some time 10 come. Favorable crop
prospects in the west have been a
factor in connection with the granger
railroad shares and attracted some
buying to that portion of the list