The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-09-28
FINANCIAL NEWS
AND COMMENT
Stocks Have Most Active Day
Of Week and Entire List
Gains From Start.
STEEL SHARES ADVANCE
Bank Statement Shows Money
Market Has Made Decided
Improvement.
STEEL SHARES ADVANCE

belief yesterday more emphatically than
ever that the threatened tieup of the iron
and steel industry is dwindling into moth
ing more than a local affair. with every
Indication pointing to a resumption OF
activity on q full scale in even these dis
T. icta The ultimatum which came from
tile Bethlehem plant was the sole excep-
ton to the steadily increasing tide in
favor of the steel corporations yester-
day. but this was not allowed to inter-
fers with the movements under way on
tha Stock Exchange. The market was
rIore active than on any other day this
week and the manner In which prices
went forward clearly demonstrated that
the financial community has thrown
aside all hesitancy. at least in so far as
the steel situation Is concerned. Start
ing with the steel shares. the entire mar
Et gained strength from the outset and
as the session progressed II became a
general routing OF the shorts In the
sic ndard stocks.
The whole thing was due, of course, to
the change in the steel situation. Where
nv on the preceding day there ware many
persons who still believed that the strike
might be long drawn out affair, opin-
IN yesterday was equally as Arm that
The backbone Of the difficulties had been
b, oxen. In other words that the men
ON now on would return to the plants
IN steadily Increasing numbers. The
exception to all this was at the Bethle-'
hem plant. where the labor leaders have
threatened to call the men out to-mor-
row. But Wall Stree .ook the view that
II the labor leaders lave as much sue
cess at this plant as they have In
some of the othei districts there is not
mt CHI to worry abo~t so far as the stock
| market 10 toncerneu. In addition to this.
| lie, financial community lad the FIRST
| real favorable news on the foreign AK
! or ange situation which II has had since
the big decline started with tte removal
of restrictions on sterling. This was
Nth respect to the gold shipments which
have been permitted once moro by the
British Government Until the peace
treaty has been signed It Is an open Sc
cret that 40 important credits could be
granted here to stabilize that exchange
market so that what has taken place Is
q complete reversal of the stand taken
| by Great Britain with respect TO the ex-
change rates. ----
The most impressive thing about yes
| terday's market perhaps was the adj
vance which occurred in the steel
shares. the issues which have Jagged
behind all week. All of these issues
were very active, with Steel common
getting above 106, and Crucible making
another spectacular advance In face Of
! IS sharp rise on the previous day. The
outstanding feature of the session, how
ever. was American Can. This stock.
as has been pointed out repeatedly. is
in the same position as Crucible and
Baldwin. and the movement In 1t yes
terday indicated very clearly that these
| possibilities were at last being realized
| by the financial community. The stock
made a new high record for the current
movement and came within a point and
a half of its previous high three years
, ago. The strength of the standard
shares naturally Influenced the rest of
the list, particularly the speciality shares.
Another spectacular feature of the day,
which convinced Wall Street more than
anything else as to the steel strike, was
the strength of Bethlehem B. In spite
OF the threatened strike at the plants of
this company the stock was very promi-
nent yesterday, making a new high rec
ord for the movement
The bank statement disclosed a de-
cided Improvement in the money mar
.Set The surplus reserve Increased S71,-
100000. bringing the aggregate reserve
to about slS,000,000. against a deficit
last week OF s5S,0o0.0oo. The improve
ment in reserve position was accom-
r!ished very largely by an improvement
of approximately S6O,000.000 IN cash re-
serve of member banks with the Fed
eral Reserve Bank OF New York. The
foreign exchange market was steady
holding its advance of the previous day
but doing very little more, in spite Of the
overnight announcement that Great
Britain had again permitted the ship
ment of gold to this country. Fridays
shipment was the first to arrive. and |,
10 understood in banking circles that q
considerable amount will be shipped tc
this country very shortly. This shoulc
have an important bearing on the for
eIgn exchange market and hkewis'
should tend TO mako money easier II
this centre