The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-11-07
STOCK MARKET
 VERY ERRATIC Closing Prices Were Not Far from Wednesdays Level TRADING AT A STANDSTlLL Constantly Varying Movement Was Seemingly Due to Cropping Efforts of Professional Operators.
 Was No Current.
TRADING ATA STANDSTlLL

New York, November 6.--The course of stock prices was exceedingly cratic all of today, and the closing prices were not far from last nights level The con stantly varying movement was seemingly due to the groping efforts of the profes- sional operators to discover the current in the market. The result of their experi- ments seemed to show there was no cur rent. Speculative sentiment has, in Tact, come to standstill and is waiting for new developments. The factors which have induced the recent downward len- dency of prices are still in force to greater or less extent, but the well-estap- lished principle of speculative markets to discount the future makes it doubt1ul when current movement of prices has run an adequate course to accomplish this object Apprehension still exists that there will be large withdrawals of gold with a resulting squeeze of money rates In the local market. Tho advancing tendency of wages and the high prices Of materials keep alive the uneaslness over the proportion of the earnings which will be left for stockholders. But 1t may be possible that the considerable decline in prices, which has already occurred, may be sufficient to discount these pos wod famea wigafrtb wolai nagtmatah abilities. At all events, the bear oper- ators who have gone short of tho mar ket, took sufficient account of this possi- bility tn want to buy stocks to cover caused by this buying met renewed sell Ing of a rather concentrated character. sf..tsr- and opinion was divided as to whether It came from the bears or was further liquidation of long accounts.
 The stocks most active in the trading were those which have been recent favor tes in the speculation. There were gains of 1 to 115 points at one time in about a dozen railroad stocks and half as many specialties. Cotton oil had the benefit of it's dividend declaration.
 Sugar broke sharply after early strength because of fears of further cut in prices and rumors of a rate war at Missouri river points, The coalers were under some pressure owing to ru- mors of renewed troubles at the col lieries of some of the independent oper- ators and Lackawanna suffered in addi- ton on the showing of earnings for the September quarter which relieved a re- auction in net earnings compared with the corresponding period of last year of ], 1,70O,0O0 Money rates were rather firm and foreign exchange also was firmly held. Published reports of the renewals of American loans in Paris had some eff feet in relieving apprehension over the foreign exchange outlook, although local international bankers attached little inn portance to the report The weekly state nents of the Bank of England and the Bank of France showed continued de- cline in their gold reserves, the former l. I-titution losing upwards of three mil ion and the latter about half million Iollars. The close of the stock market was easy and with some stocks at the lowest of the day.
 The movement of bonds was narrow md irregular. Total sales, par value, i209O.0O0 United States bonds were all unchanged on the last call