The age-herald., 1902-02-19
STOCK MARKET ON
 DOWNWARD TURN Volume of Trading Only About Half Million s hares. SOME SHOW OF STRENGTH Restrictive Influence of Previous Day Was Lifted, Yet Volume of Trade Was Not So Great as Had
 Been Expected.
SOME SHOW OF STRENGTH

New York, February 1S.-The restrictlVe influence upon the trading of yesterday s storm was lifted today, yet the volume of trading was only about a hal1 nnii- lion shares. There was some sho" of strength during the morning hours' but 1t dwindled during the day ana the market generally turned downward. some stocks which had the average or carry advances did not suffer materially on the day, but the general level or prices at the end was lower than yesterday The disinclination to trade in stocks Of the greater railroad systems, especially those of the transcontinental group, was very marked. It might have been due to the efforts making for revision so1 transcontinental freight rates or 1t might be explained by the growing inclination to await next Mondays session Of the Supreme Court, and a possible decision fin the Northern Securities case before venturing upon speculative commitments in this group of stocks which have so much at stake in the decision of that case. Speculative opinion Is in a per- plexed state as to the merits of the Metropolitan Street Railway plan.
 The machinery of the plan is so com plicated and the bearings of its operation so obscure that little can be made of it. and the general public is inclined to look askance at the securities involved. The interest of insiders in supporting the price of the stock pending the completion of the plan is obvious. but the price ran off more than a point in the late dealings today This had deterrent influence on specula- tion elsewhere. The same was true of the weakness of Amalgamated Copper, which lost 2as on the days dealings. The futil- ity of the efforts to advance Southern Pa- cfic and sugar were additional influences in the same direction
 The development of new points of ac- tivty among the stocks seldom active or of little general importance continued to be a feature, but other stocks Of the same class recently advanced secure from profit-making. Buying to some effect in the coalers, which was especially con Bpicuous in Reading second preferred and in New York, Ontario and Western Lackawanna made a squirt of six points but reacted four. Profitable demands up- on the coal companies are said to be more than they can supply and there are surmises also of proposed further con- solidation of the ownership of these roads, Another group which was active and strong was the southwesterns in spite of decreases in gross earnings for the Becond week in February represented by sixteen members of the group Conjec- lures are rife of plans looking to financial consolidation in this group also.
 The strnegth in the group gave way with the decline in the rest of the mar ket Wide gains were made by number of extremely inactive stocks the last previous sales of which were many months old in some cases. The money market remained easy but confidence over It's future is not fully assured. Sterling exchange advanced a fraction here today and fell a fraction at Paris The mar gin against profits in gold exports to Paris is very narrow and both these movements tended toward wiping out the margin The firmness of the money mar kets is an additional factor. This makes I. possible that more engagements or gold for export on Thursday will be made tomorrow. The growing dullness and heaviness in the market was due in part to this development. The closing was irregular, but there were only slight ral- lies.
 Wabash debenture bs constituted the bulk of the bond market but they lost practically all their gains. Total sales par value $5, 300, 000 United States bonds were all unchanged on the last call
 ,lew York Stock Market.
 By Private Wire 10 Murphy q Cn.