The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-01-19
STOCK MARKET ACTIVE AND BROAD Local Money Situation Gains
 Notable Strength. PREFERENCE FOR MINORS Industrial Department Was Somewhat overshadowed By the Heavy
 Dealings In United States
 Steel Preferred.

New York, January 1s.-The stock mar ket responded today to the favorable turn of sentiment abroad over the far eastern outlook and the notable strength gain ing in the local money sltuation There was more active. and broader market and during the final hour the trading took on something like animation.
 The same striking preference for stocks of minor railroads and industrials for such speculative movements that have been in evidence for some time was the conspicuous feature of the trading. New York Central and Louisville and Nash vile achieved one-point movement ear Her in the day, but 1t was not until late in the last hour of the session that St. Paul moved up 73s.
 This exhausted the list of standard rail- road stocks which made any movement worthy of notice. The Rock Islands stock were taken vigorously in hand, eventually for a speculative campaign, the common being lifted 1a4 and the pre- ferred Sk. The bonds of the Rock Islands group even made more sensational ad- vances, the 5s scoring an upward bound of 4ta and the As 3 points.
 These advances were made in a spas modist manner on comparatively small dealings The 5s jumped 11s on single sale in the course of the advance. Lar ger advances were made in some of the minor railroad stocks than in these few standard stocks, being for the most part continuance of movements recently com mented upon.
 The industrial department of the mar ket was rather broader, but was consid- erably overshadowed by the heavy deal ings in United States steel preferred Rather vague assertions of improving trade conditions accompanied the buying. The enormous absorption of the corpora tions second martgage five per cent bonds had a marked sympathetic effect on the preferred stock. The par value of the days sale of the United States steel sec ond 5s exceed that of all the rest of the bonds sold during the day.
 This movement was iduced by the an- nouncement that the bonds had been listed on the London stock exchange. This gave rise to an expectation that comprehensive movement to make mar ket for the bonds was In contemplation. A similar expectation was an important element In the Rock Island movement. Amalgamated copper rose a point. The few railroads reporting gross earnings for lHt SeCOIu week III JaHudTy tudue Il more favorable comparison with last years corresponding periods than was the case with the first weeks earnings The weekly interviews with railroad traf- fic officials were of a hopeful and in some cases a confident tone. The Mis- souri Pacific statement of net earnings for November partly offset these favor able influences, showing as it did a de- cline in neat earnings of s436,951, or over aq h fha afa of dividend to be declared tomorrow on Erie first preferred acted as a drag on those stocks Money was offered with great freedom and the rise of sterling ex- change toward the gold export point was not the cause of any surprise of appar- ent uneasness.
 Bonds were firm with the present trans actions in the issue above noted and in Wabash debentures b's. Total sales par value S6.53500
 United States bonds were unchanged on call.