The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-02-06
STOCK MARKET FEATURES
PRICES THOUGH NOT BUOYANT
 HELD STRONG.

And Had a Quite Steady Though Small
 Advance--CIosed at the Days Best Priccs-Bear Position Insecure
 storm Checked Wire service-More Gold Expected-Printlng of Odd Lot Transactions.
 The stock market held well yesterday and prices of most stocks advanced
 Despite obstructed wire and railroad service to contend with the amount of the transactions was considerable, the total sales being nearly 60O,OOO shares.
 The undertone of the market was the best for several days, and stocks are not easy to dislodge. The buying pow CT, however is not limited though the appearance of small investment buyers was conceded in the reprinting again of old lots on the stock exchange.
 The late trading was helped by the strength in the copper stocks which were taken at advancing prices. The Steel shares were also strong at the close, which was near the high level of the day.
 The way that stocks rallied from the afternoon drive against Pennsylvania proved that the bear position has grown untenable and that the shore interest is getting uneasy.
 stocks was naturally referred to the unexpected declaration of the next div idends, which may come at almost any time now. On Union Pacific 5 per cent. semi-annually is expected, and on Southern Pacific ? 1-2 uer cent.
 Labor difficulties on the Pennsylva- mia were a large consideration in the days discussion on that stock Penn sylvania advices seem to show that there was expected to be more trouble than appeared directly on the surface.
 The opinion expressed by leading broker is that the market will be a sale on all rallies, and that the decline will not be arrested until congress, the courts and the lawmakers complete the Investigation of things.
 The decline in prices that have taken place in the past month is the largest since the summer of 1903. Stocks then dropped from an average of about Ill in May to 99 1-2 in June. Before the break culminated there was total de- cline of 20 points. So far the market this year has lost about 13 points and has had practically no rally.
 Even among conservative people the belief is not departed from that the selling, long as it may have been in progress, will not culminate until there has been a violent outbreak, with transactions running probably in ex- cess of two million shares in a day. Slow and possible steady recovery might then be looked for.
 The break of 4 IA points in Great Northern seemed to be due to the sale of 5000 shares by one leading broker The price declined on six sales of 1000 shares from 165 to 162 IA. The cur rent belief was that the selling of this stock represented the liquidation of an account carried by we'll known Wall street man who has just died.
 Brokers who say they "don't see any thing to buy stocks on" point to the weakness of the rallies and to the ten dency which the market has shown so many times to get dull after a short turn from the bottom.
 The resistance shown by the market the past few days caused the shorts to buy on a larger scale yesterday In a number of stocks that have best ex- pressed current sentiment the dealings on rising prices scale decreased.
 North American has a few friends who are heard from semi-occasionally, and who just now are feeling good over the showing made for the late eyear Talk of the stock selling up to 11O is not heard, as it frequently used to be, but the claim is made that it is worth more than when it sold within points of that figure in January, 1906.
 Peoples Gas responded scarcely at all on the decision of the supreme court in favor of the company in the matter of 75-cent gas, though the ruling was re- garded as important. This reflected the arathy of the trading public to do any, thing.
 Two reasons are given for the print ing of odd lots. The first is that trad ing is so dull that every transaction can be handled by the telegraph oper- ating force, thing impossible in heavy markets. The second is the current in- crease in investment buying, which is mainly in odd lots. Buyers like to see their transactions quated on the tape. Many brokers did not reach their off, fees yesterday until long after the change had opened. In the rear office of a number of the brokerage houses Told timers" told of the blizzard days" of 1888, and the general tie-up that occurred at that time in Wall street. On March F, 16SS the first day of the great blizzard, only 15,S50 shares changed hands, and the stock exchange closed at 12:3O. The next day, March IS, only a handful of members put in their appearance, and the days sales established the low record with 2,075 shares, and on that day the exchange closed at 11:30
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