The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-05-20
STOCK MARKET
REMAINS INERT
Selling Orders Predominated
Over the Buyers
STARTED WITH SOME GAINS
Was Due to Sympathetic Influence of
the London Market, In Which
Rumors of Peace
Were Reported.
STARTED WITH SOME GAINS

New York. May 19.-The stock market
continued inert and almost llfeless today.
Whenever any activity developed the tone
became soft, showing the predominance
Of selling over buying orders in a very
narrow market. When prices ceased their
slow downward tendency the market fell
into profound dullness, thus rejecting the
nnwillirgness Of any buyers to take stock
on an upward scale. So argued the room
traders whose operators are devoted to
following the movements OF larger oper-
Rtors. AS the meager details were
almost wholly made UP of the room trad
ers' transactions they were drawing de-
auctions from their own operations. In
fact. the trading offered no grounds for
serious differences of any kind
The trading started with some little
gains due to the sympathetic influence OF
the London market, in which rumors were
reported to be in circulation of prospects
for the coming of peace In the far east.
The resumption of selling United States
Steel preferred on the continuing effect
of pessimistic reports from the iron trade
was the first drag upon the market. But
the heavy tone spread to other quarters
The sub-treasury statement, showing
gains at the expense of the banks OF the
week of S11,290,c0O, promised another for
mldable inroad upon surplus reserve
of The banks, the more so that the $780,
900 in gold coin exported today does not
figure in the statement A definite state
ment by the negotiator of the New YORK
subscription to the Japanese loan that the
whole of the $25, 900 subscription is TO
he RENTED to London, helped to explain
the force of the gold but did not defne
its limits. Sterling exchange showed
slight yielding tendency, and this was
said to be due to sterling loan pllls IN
the market.
The Bank of England maintained its
discount rate, but the open market in
Paris receded and the Bank of France
statement showed the growing plethora
of resources of that institution. The
weather map was pronounced 1deal Tor
the crops but the contradictory stength
In the wheat market neutralized the et-
fects of this. The severe reduction In
New York Centrals net earnings Tor the
quarter emphasized the effect OF I'M
favorable returns by other systems
disposition to dispute over the main
tenance of rates on business diverted to
the railroads by the interruption of lake
Transportation by the strike was regard
ed as a symptom of the growing pressure
to secure traffic and attention was at
tracted by the reports of drastic retrench-
ment projected by the railroads to cut
down expense accounts.
Notice late in the day of an offer of
subscriptions next week to a sS5,0OO,o0
bond issue is another factor promising to
prolong the demand of gold for export.
But this did not prevent prices from re-
tracing their previous course In sympa-
thy with a rally in United States Steel
preferred, leaving the days net changes
again wholly insignificant.
Bonds were dull and rather heavy at
some late recoveries; total sales, par
value. s1,265,00 United States bonds
were unchanged on call.