The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-10-09
STOCK MARKET FEATURES
EARLR RISE LOST IN CLOSING
 DECLINE.

General Electric and Westinghouse Go
 Up Points in Early Hours on Seem
 inelv Groundless RumOr of Merger
 Steel and Great Northern Fall to Ad-
 vanec-Union Pacific and Rock Island
 Lead Railroads Easier Money COn-
 ditions Yet London Raises Discount
 Rate and New York Engages s1,5OO,-
 900.
 The earlier hours of yesterdays market saw an advance in prices which in some stocks resulted in considerable early gains, but the later dealing was weak and the final hour was character ized by irregular declines. Union Paci- fic with a two point gain, American Smelling with 1-2, General Electric and Westinghouse ', and Amalgamated with 1-2 made the biggest aims of the opening hours. United States Steel and Great Northern pf opened with slight rise but fell back quickly. The final decline brought all stocks back from the early figures and brought about net loss in some.
 Union Pacific and Rock Island led in the railroad issues, which were not par ticularly strong.
 The violent rise in General Electric and Westinghouse Electric was accom- panied by report--oft repeated-that a merger of the two companies is being considered There seemed to be no ground for this. That there Is any in tention of increasing their dividends there was no evidence either
 The sharp rise in American Smelting was accompanied by report which was believed by many that at no dis tant date the dividend on the common stock will be increased from to 8 per cent, at least. The trading was heavy. Nothing definite developed as regarding the dividend matter.
 Early in the afternoon Amalgamated Copper took the lead and began to mount upward on large buying orders. It reached 116 before the last hour, sag ged off little, then climbed still high CT. Coincident with this rise the price of the crude metal was run up on the metal exchange. The bid price of lake copper was advanced S-4 cent to 21 cents. and the asking price was raised 1 1-2 cents. to 22 Electroytc Copper advanced IA cent in the bid and 3-4 cent in the asking price, while castings also rose There was revived talk about an increase in the dividend of Amalga- maSed Copper, in keeping with the re- cent increase in Anaconda.
 Yesterdays advance in sterling brings the market to ASA 1-4 of 40 points above the level of Friday. This strength reflected the easier money conditions and purchases of exchange to pay off maturing Indebtedness in Europe. Yet despite the easier money conditions and an apparent relaxing of our demands for gold the London discount rate went up, price of gold bars went up and $1,- 500000 in gold was engaged in London for New York Both in Wall street and in London, belief seemed to be en- tertained that the credits through which this gold engagement was effect ed were derived from Paris. This may be so, but it does not explain the Lon- don money markets action, and 1t is not itself explained by any movement yesterday in French exchange on Lon don.
 London bought 15,0OO shares on bal ance in New York, mostly United States Steel and the Pacific stocks. There was some selling of Erie for foreign account on the early advance. Sentiment aoroad was improved, and all securities were fairly buoyant. The feature was an abrupt rise in crude copper of more than @ per ton. This helped most of the copper stocks there