The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-04-20
Immense Blocks of shares Change
Hands mt Record Prices for the
Securities and Top for the Day.
EASE OF THE MONEY MARKET
LENDS ITS AID TO THE PALPABLE
BULL MANIPULATION.
United states steel Stocks the Only
Exception to the Days Rule
Local Business Conditions.

At New York. yesterday. money on call
was steady at 21za4le per cent; last loans.
2i9; ruling rate. per cent.
Prime mercantile paper, 4q4l2 per cent.
Sterling exchange was firm, with actual
business in bankers bills at $lS77sQ4.SS for
demand and s4.S4AG4S47s for sixty days;
posted rates. si.S515 and $iS9; commercial!
bills $4S4d4 S4ls.
Silver certificates We're nominally Coo;
lar silver 5915c; Mexican dollars, 4Sc. Sill
yer bars closed at 27%sd an ounce in Lon
don.
Yesterdays stock market was the most
remarkable which has yet been seen dur
ing the recent speculative era. Not only
in the aggregate sales, which reached 3,
1890 shares, but in the wide distribution
and the variety of trading. the amount ami
number of gains recorded. the record prices
touched. the Wilderness of the general out
side interest manifested in the market. and
from almost any point of view the market
was entirely without precedent in the his
tory of Wall street. The feverish tone
which has been a feature of the market on
some of the heavy speculative days of late.
and which was Que to a state of nervous
apprehension on the part of the specula-
lacking in yesterdays market. There was a
steady and persistent uplift of prices which
was as irresistible as hydraulic pressure.
The occasional profit-taking. which was
largely by room traders. was licked up
with hardly more than a momentary infiu-
ence on prices Even the selling to take
profits in the last hour, which was natural
ly very large after so considerable a show
at about a point, even in the most active
and buoyant of the stocks, and the mar
ket surged upward again at the last, clos
ing In buoyant and spectacular outburst
such as was perhaps never seen before
In the last five minutes of the trading
the tape recorded such transactions as
5000 shares OF Pennsylvania at 16O. while
in Union Pacific there was a string Of
shares at lOO 5000 shares at S97s 5000 at
leo, and final block of 10000 shares at
100 at the top prices for the day and in
the history of the stock. These transac-
lions were exceptional, but there were
blocks OF 1000 to 5000 shares of a large
number or the most active stocks chang
ing nands all day. Only some factor of
universal application could at all account
| Tor such general strength
Ihere was marked relaxation in the
money market and the prospect of very
strong bank statement to-day. OF course.
| TINS FACTOR has only a remote bearing on
the value of properties whose shares were
| In such eager demand yesterday, but It
| furnishes the sinews of war upon when
| the spectators are dependent for carryi ~
thelr campaign 1t has been shown a num-
| Der OF times recently that the culting off
| OF these sinews is the only thing which WIii
serve to repress the speculative ardor
which seems TO have thoroughly permeat-
cd the spirit or the American people. With
| the replenishment of available resources.
| yesterday, the speculation was revived
| IN an unbridled manner. There were few
| speclnc influences to be detected in the
| trading. The completion of the Burlington
deal, OF course. had a notable influence en-
sentiment, although Burlington, Great
| Northern. and Northern Pacific held
| a comparatively inconspicuous place in
the trading. But the air was thick with
rumors of measures to be taken by rail-
The movement in Union Pacific and in the
Atchisons was distinctly traceabe to this
influence. aided by supplementary rumors
lsh export duty on coal was factor In
| the buoyant uplift of the seaboard BIZ
luminous coal carriers, as 1t aroused hopes
| OF a large growth in our export trade In
evidently moved in sympathy on the sup
position of closer combination and addi-
tional financial security with the parent
New York Central system. The express
stocks moved upwards In company on the
belief that closer association was in view
as the result of Thursdays election as
directors OF the United States Express of
officials of other companies. Belief in a
| merger of Southwestern railroads was a
| potent factor in that section of the mar
ket. The buoyancy of Amalgamated Copper
was accounted for by rumors of further
absorptions by that company. Hopes OF
dividend increases was a wide-reachng
| factor. The smelling stocks were strong
| in this expectation. In a large number of
stocks there was not even an attempt to
assign motive for the large buying,
which was palpably based on the ALIEN
| bracing expectation that the price of stock
would go up because others had done so.
y very sharp contrast to the general
movement of the general market was the
heaviness of the United States Steel
| stocks, the preferred falling at one time
| nearly a point below Thursday night. This
was partly accounted for by the crcula-
| tion by the bears of a rumor that j. Pier
| pont Morgan was suffering from heart
| trouble. but the stocks did not recover
with the authoritative information that
| Mr.. Morgan was in good health. This
rumor helped to account FOR the midday
dip of the market which was effectually
| overcome. The strength OF the market
was so general that 1t is only worth while
TO specify a few of the more important
net gains. These were: st. Paul, 67s: Bal
timore & Ohio. 5l4; Union Pacific, A. Anal
gamated Copper, AS; Rock Island. 3z;
the junior Vanderbilts, from to 1015, the
latter Canada Southern; American Ex-
| press, 3; Wells-Fargo, 5l2; Pacific Coast,
| common and second preferred 81 and 6,
| respectively, and a large number of other
| stocks from to points.
Business in bonds was also active and
! become generally strong the day pro-
| crossed Total sales at par value were
| ST. $4,000 United States refunding twos de-
! clined L. and the threes u per cent. on
| the last call.
Following are the days share sales and
| the closing bid prices: