The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-03-02
FINANCIAL NEWS
AND COMMENT
Stocks Up After Three Days
Sales Aggregating 2,OOO,-
900 Shares.
ISSUES ARE WEAK

houses. mingled with an increase Of spec
ulativo pressure, forced further substan-
tial declines In various directions In the
stock market yesterday. but the upshot
Of tho trading was to supplement previ-
Gus indications that around the low
levels established a month y the de.
mandf for stocks was more than adequate
to take care Of the supply. Transactions
yesterday were on an active scale, az
gregatine about three-Quartcrs Of a MILL
ion shares. but from confusion and weak
ness In the earlier hours the market
progressed TO an exhibition OF growing
nrmness. and there was a general up
ward movement In the last hour.
professional attacks on the list made
less n less impression In the course Of
the day. and short covering combined
with other purchases in the late dealings
90 make an active close at rising prices.
The net result of the day was an tr-
regular array Of price changes in COM
parison with Tuesdays close. but final
figures In most active descriptions rep
resented pretty nearly complete recov-
cry OF earlier losses. Some significance
would seem also to attach TO the fact
that In the frs, half OF the present week,
with the trading In excess of we million
shares. closing quotations last night
ranged substantially above the low level
reached on Monday morning.
The prevailing attitude OF commission
house brokers lately has encouraged
liquidation and discouraged buying, and
the conclusion might he drawn from this
and from the outcome Of the last three
market sessions that there has been an
extensive ransfer OF stocks and lons
contracts from relatively weak to rela.
lively strong hands. There are. more
over, other tokens pointing 10 the same
conclusion. II has been quite common In
Wall Street for the last few weeks 10
consider the market In terms OF continu.
Gus decline. but II is not the market it.
self which has gone down 70 much as
II has been the commission house COM
mitments In the market. which have sui
fered reduction.
This urquestionably makes for add.
tlonal Improvement in the market struc-
ture and In the technical position OF
stocks. but the comparisons which the
session of January 81 offers are very in
teresting OF all the active list. only
American Can, Baldwin Locomotive.
Mexican Petroleum and Studebaker
have In the last few days sohl materially
lower than the lowest prices of "A month
ago. On the average the many other
active issues could hardly have been
sold ~ the bottom figures al the end
OF January and r~epurchased since except
at "A loss. certainly not at any reinun-
erative profit.
a fairly legitimate conclusion might
he drawn from the foregoing considera-
ton that the matters OF which Wall
street has talked so much lately. the
tremendous fighting on the western front
OF the European war. tiernany's new
submarine provramme OF de-
struction. Washington's diplomatic COM
plications with Berlin and the domestic
political unsettlement which has devei-
oped over questions of foreign policy.
have not had so much bear'ng upon val
ues as on speculative endeavor. They
have apparently served the purpoSe OF
providing a leverage for operative effort
20 Induce a liquidation Of contested DO
sition In stocks. but the absorption OF
stocks thus unloaded has implied the
existence OF confidence somewhere, well
equipped with buying power. which was
not particularly apprehens.ve OF the eff
feet OF international uncertainties on the
corporate equities of the Stock Exchange
list.
There was over night n sufncient pa rade
of these uncertainties IN President Will
sons letter calling for Congressional sup
port Of the Administrators foreign pol
ley and IN the inauguration OF Gc1nany's
new campaign against merchant ship
ping TO accelerate liquldating processes
IN the stock market. Yet II was eviden,
after the early dealings that buying ..
a more aggressive quality was contendinc
with the sellers for control, Nor was
there ANYTHING In the expression OF i'm.
portant financial opinion during the day
to warrant the suspicion that the bankinp
community regarded the international
outlook with acute concern.