The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1902-07-27
STOCK MARKET
IS STILL STRONG
BuyingWa Not Strong Enough
to Prevent Decline
CLOSING WAS VERY EASY
During the Week the Market Has
Shown Degree of Strength That
Is Remarkable, Consider
ing Previous Standards.
CLOSING WAS VERY EASY

New York, July 26.-There were vari-
Gus points of strength In today's stock
market the first hour of trading, show
Ing much the same character as that of
the week just closing. The demand,
however. was languid and the selling in
dueed by the statement of condition of
the banks was not we'll enough absorbed
to prevent a declining tendency. AS a
result the closing was easy and repre-
scented net losses in the majority OF
cases. Rock Island was affected new
by the plan for the conversion of its
securities and the notable strength OF
the st. Louis ana San Francisco stocks,
Kansas City, Fort Scott and Memphis
and Chicago and Eastern Illinois were
due to hopes that those properties would
be included in the new project The
definite formation of this plan gave
fresh credenee to rumors of many other
financial projects which have fallen out
of public attention for some time after
active discussion, but the lack or active
interest in the market incident to the
short session and the absence in the
country of many active operators left
these factors ineffective to hold up
prices.
The bank statement showed a gain
in cash reserves of $2644,2O0 which is
nearly a million in excess of eXpecta-
lions. but this with the loan expansion
of $9,9s7, 200 resulted in an increase in
deposits of $11, 4043 300 which increases the
requirement of the legal reserve by ST.
S51, 055 AS the increase in short cash
falls short of this by $206,S75 the sur
min ia
extent. The disclosure that the needs of
the active speculation are absorbing the
increase in available resources and the
prospect that further gold will go out
next week while lie government reven-
ues have begun to take up a daily sur
plus caused some uneasiness over the
course of the money market with con-
tinuance of the speculation.
The stock market has shown degree
of animation this week which is extraor-
binary by the standards existing before
the speculative era of last year. The
average of the daily dealings has run
near to a million shares of stocks. The
market has presented the usual irregu-
larity caused by the shifting speculation
of a bull movement due to occasional
profit taking where the have been ex-
tended advances, side by side with anti
mated buying in new quarters of the mar
ket. On Thursday the selling tendency
be came rather more general but there
were persisting points of marked strength
then. The prevailing opinion in Wall
Street is that he bulk of operations is still
due to pools of millionaire spectators, in
tent upon a turn in prices and a quick
sale of realized profits But it is OBJ
vious that there have been large access
sons to the ranks of this class of opera
tors over the number that were RESPONSE
Bile for the earlier statements of the
movements and indications have not been
wanting that the great financial powers of
the country have had hand in the deal
ings and a growing outside following
from the country at large has been at
tracted to the market. The bull move
ment as its basis, the general agreement
of signs in showing prosperous conditions
in the country and in promising a contin-
uance of the conditions as along the range
of vision can perceive the future.
Prices of stoc4.1 are higher relatively
than bonds. 1t is noticeable also that
the investment demands for bonds is
languid. Taking the average price of
twenty representative railroad stocks,
the figure reached this week was $126 49,
The average price of the same stocks
on May / last year, the highest touched
before the stock market panic was III so.
a comparison of prices of twelve repre-
sentative industrials which reached an
average price this week OF bb.5U, touched
93 at the high level before the panic.
The same stock In the spring of 1899 at
the period of wholesale notation of in
dustrials, touched an average of 7.6l,
while the twenty representative railroad
stocks were at $685.. The ease of call
money this week has been a fostering
influence upon the speculation and the
export of 50, 10000 in gold has not af-
fected the local money rates.
The semi-annual statement of the New
York trust companies, filed at Albany
this week. reveals that these institutions
on June 30 had increased their depos- IS
since January near $s5,0OOOO0, while the
increase In cash reserves abounts to $12.-
$4,000 of which no less than 81 ,126,00O
goes TO increase the cash deposits in
other institutions, thus figuring presum-
ably in the cash reserves of the bank.
Except for the convertible and specu-
lative bonds the market has been quiet
and rather irregular. United States old
Is registered declined *; United States
odd As coupon Is, new As registered de-
clned q, new As coupon u and the Is 70
per cent as compared with the closing
call.