The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-12-11
FINANCIAL NEWS
And COMMENT
Stocks Decline on Failure to
Reflect Great steel Ton
mage Gain.
ACTION PROVES PUZZLE

Trading on the Stock Exchange yes
terday was again at the expense Of
prices. The upshot Of the session was
a weak close with substantial net de-
ciines all around. Tit main movement
Of quoted values occurred in the last
hour, when re~actionary tendencies issued
from a sagging drift. The ostensible
cause Of the increased pressure, which
represented more active professional OPP
erations for the fall and some expansion
Of uneasy commission house liquidation.
was the apathy with which the market
received the statement Of the astonish-
ing gain In the United States Steel Cor
p%oration's tonnage of forward orders In
November.
This amounted to 1,02i.037 tons, al
most the largest monthly increase In
the corporations history. and followed
the October gain of SAT 900 tons, which
was in itself remarkable. Apparently
bookings In these two months were
abou twice the corporations pro-
ductive capacity, and it's total Of forward
business assures maximum operations
for more than a half year., with all signs
| pointing to the addition Of contracts In
the near future which will bring the
aggregate of untitled orders to IN UNI
p~recedented volume
Moreover. contracting this autumn has
been on rising prices for steel products.
which now closely approximate the for
mer record level. The November show
ing was far beyond the expectations OF
the most sanguine optimist, and yet the
stock market hardly budged upward
when the Steel figures came out. This
new manifestation of indifference to the
favorable developments which ave been
bearing on values was enough to en-
courage speculative selling for both &C
counts.
Wall Street has been growing mor'
and more puzzled by the action of stock.
lately. and the Inertia of the marke'
has become almost too erotesuue to III
taken seriously as "A measure of the fact,
and OF the financial and business situa
ton. There was more talk about ad
verse features of politics, ~Hternatlona
and domestic. IA the effort TO find al
explanation for the rest -sint OF the shar,
list In face of the present encouragin,
eyepts and information.
A great Increase In active trading II
the Anglo-t'rench bonds for distant de
livery at prices well below the under
writing figures seemed to give point I
tha,theory that the market was showing
sensitiveness as to the reverses Of tn
Allies in the Balkan warfare. Congress
slonal matters and the tension of on
relations With Austria were also ar
xumentatiyely developed, but 1t wa
doubtful after all If these things wer
anything more than the special excuse
Of the moment for the customary DE
cember stock market controlled by sea
sonal and psychological influences.
Something Of tho sort may be def
Hltely indicated by the contrast betwee
the stock narketie present absorptio
of good news. highly favorable to tn
real values of standard securities. with
out making any constructive respons
to such news and the excited speculativ
reflection of wild yarns about war or
ders not so very long ago. The situa
ton permits the Inference that o
\ of the haze Of war stock speculation sti
persists to dim the proper perspectiv
of Nalue and the name III which the
are being strengthened by "A bushes
activity far greater and more proiitobl
than the public generally reallzes.
The Government cotton figures est
mated for the year one OF the smalles
crops of the past decade. 1t t. bpgir
ming to look a little as though I'll
cotton grower had oyerdone the curtal
rnent " production, hut the result Ia
|, had the effect of improving financi;
1 aud business conditions ia the Sout
very materially. Sterling exchange di
not denote "a financially adverse intcrpr,
tatiOn of the progress of the war f,
the Allies. Bills on London were fir
enough to rise fractionaily to new hig
figures for the recovery which set I'm la
, month. ON the other hand German e,
change fell to new low quotations.