New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-11-19
MARKET NEWS
AND COMMENT
Railroads Advance, While
Other Issues Hesitate
or Drop Lower.
TRADING CONDUCTED
ON SMALLER SCALE
Industrial List Heavy-Coppers
Reactionary-London Checks
Above 1859 in Pound.

While the rest of the list hesitated
or fell back, the railroads improved
yesterday, reaching in the afternoon
prices that for some prominent issues
were the best of the year. Business
was considerably reduced from the
million share total of the day before,
and in large measure represented the
operations of professional traders, but
the strength in the railroads, while in
part speculative, was in line with in
vestment buying. The copper stocks
weakened in spite of higher prices for
the metal here and in London, and
industrials that had been put up on
war orders were reactionary.
Erie was firm practically all day and
furnished the most active dealings of
the list. Union Pacific led the rail-
roads in the afternoon, advancing
points 10 over 14l, the highest reached
since the company's holdings of Balti-
more e. Ohio stock were distributed
and the dividend reduced from 10 to
per cent. Reading, New Haven, Lee
high Valley, st. Paul, Chesapeake &
Ohio and Southern Pacific all improved.
Trading in the railroads was the larg-
est for some time.
Gross receipts of the carriers, which
had been expected to surpass the re-
suits of last year are now In many
cases better than in 1913. Complete
earnings reports for October will soon
be forthcoming, and it is to be expect
ed that as in preceding months net
earnings will more than carry out the
improvement promised in gross. Rail
road bonds are strong, with bond deal
ers reporting practically no slackening
of investment demand in these issues.
Outside of the railroads the stock
market gave signs of coming to halt.
Some commission houses are predicting
quieter dealings for while until some
new impetus arrives to make securities
more interesting to the outside public.
Such efforts as were made yesterday TO
enliven trading in the war stocks had
little effect Lackawanna Steel and
Baldwin Locomotive on fairly large
dealings, made only slight improvement
at their best, and fell back on the day.
In the copper stocks selling by the
short interest. with considerable profit
taking, caused losses OF a point or
more.
There was no concentrated bear pres
sure TO break prices in spectacular
fashion, but from time to time short
selling was sufficient to cause some set
back. This was particularly the case in
the forenoon. The opening had been
irregular and attempts to advance the
general list met little success. In the
later trading business was quiet, fall
ing away decidedly in the middle of the
afternoon.
Improvement in exchange rates on
London and Paris continued. Cable ad-
vices report further efforts by British
authorities to bring out private hold
ings Of American securities, but the en-
change market here was principally in
fuenced by belief that the banking ar
rangements to steady exchange would
for time at least prove effective. De-
mand sterling got up to over 4.69 IN the
pound, only cents or so under the
best since the Anglo-French note issue
was first proposed.
In London discount rates held firm,
though the Bank of England left its
official minimum unchanged at per
cent in spite of reports that its dis
counting was being done above that fig
ure. Further loss in gold, some $S,000,-
900, and increased deposits reduced the
banks reserve proportion more than
IL per cent.