The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-09-01
FINANCIAL NEWS
AND COMMENT
Stocks Advance Keenly and
Attain About Best Prices
of the Year.
ALL STEEL SHARES GAIN
COnsummatiOn of Railway
Rental Contract Tends to
Boost These Securities.
ALL STEEL SHARES GAIN

| Instead of a dull, narrow and Gus
tomary pre-hollday market. stocks in the
short session yesterday advanced vigor-
ously. closing the week and month at or
near the best prices of the year. Opti-
mistic developments both on the western
front and in connection with the an
| nouncement of the contaminated railway
rental contract were believed by inves-
tors and traders to be a strong probab!l
ity rather than a possibility in the days
before the market reopens. AS a result
of this confidence In future war and rail-
road developments the sentiment was en-
| tirely on the constructive side, and while
the volume was nearly on a 10000
| share scale, there was no selling pressure
and even moderate buying was sufficient
to move the market upward from a frac-
tion to IN points and to wipe out all
| evidence of the temporary unsettlement
caused on Thursday by the money COM
| mittee's warning against undue specula-
ton. The final tone was firm. United
States Steel common closing at 111%,
the top Of the day, with net gain of "
points. All the steel stocfs advanced,
Gulf States Steel rising ~ to S11a.
Leather stocks were firm, in fact there
was only one net loss in the entire active
"a
The rail stocks were uniformly strong.
the gains averaging slightly more than a
point on the belief that the contract an
nouncement might come before the mar
ket reopened. There was especially heavy
trading in Southern Railway I'm which
buying for foreign investment predomi-
mated. The stock gained / u points and
made new high for the year. Union
Pacific. whose annual report will be pub
Itch T..AN 10. IN
new high for the year Missouri Pacific
preferred made new years high at
ISIS, gaining Il on the day. Bankers
professed to recognize investment buy
ing in the rail transactions. In fact
the increase In the proportion of invest
ment buying to the total number of
sales has been marked during the last
fortnight. giving new character to the
market, but 1t would be absurd to esti-
mate this proportion at more than so
per cent Perhaps the percentage is
about 40, but the fact that the proper
ton is showing a constant advance can
not be disputed.
There was no feature In foreign ex-
change, but the bank statement was
gratifying, showing decline in surplus
of only $4.027,4SO to $55,327.75O a
satisfactory development considering the
withdrawal of 100000 United States
deposits during the week enued FRIDAY.
Government deposits at the beginning
Of business yesterday were only $2l6,-
$4,000, the lowest figure since January
10 of this year The decline since August
10 has been more than 5000. 200. 900.
Deposits Increased s4i,000.000. largely
accounted for by the Morgan firms
deposit of $50.000.00o on Friday in ad-
vance of the payment of British Govern
ment notes on Tuesday. There was an
other deposit of $50.0O0.O00 yesterday
and there will be a deposit Of about s94.-
100000 on Tuesday, but these deposits
will disappear before next weeks bank
statement is published. Cash holdings
declined about s1.500.000.
Through the vigorous action by the
money committee, loans were contracted
S3l,679, 900. making tine falling off since
August 10 $1lS,0C0.OO0 To meet the
withdra walls of United States deposits
the banks borrowed $1l,000.00O from
the reserve bank. The effect of the new
call money loans on acceptances at 41a
per cent was seen In the reserve banks
shrinkage of $3,400,000 in acceptances
bought. 1t is now expected that the call
rate on acceptances will be reduced to
Az per cent. day after tomorrow in the
hope of increasing the floating supply of
aCCeptanceS.