The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-05-09
FINANCIAL NEWS
AND COMMENT
General Advance Of List Over
Broader Field Features
Brisk Trading.
STEELS IN MORE DEMAND
Marines Participate in Upward
Swing and Higher Priced
Oils Are Active.
STEELs IN MORE DEMAND

The action Of the stock market again
yesterday was practically q repetition of
the preceding days sess ion and also of
the sessions Immediately preceding that
for the past month or II ore. The only
difference In the character of yesterdays
trading was that the upws I'd movement
was more violent at times md the gem
eral advance was broade'. in other
words that 1t embraced more issues than
nave been included in the upward swing
on any single day thus far. 1t may
seem curious that the day to day mar
ket In Wall Street is getting to be moth
ing more than a repetition Of each pre-
ceding days affair. yet this Is abso-
lutely true in SO far as the general list
OF securities Is concerned. It may en-
brace certain groups of stocks one day
and another the next. but in the main
the outstanding features OF yesterdays
market were about the same as they
have been all along during the advanc-
ing movement. In SO far as the volume
OF business Is concerned, the aggregate
OF dealings was perhaps larger than
ever the total at the end of the day
being close to 100000 shares.
The one feature OF yesterdays stock
market which halted 1t slightly from
other sessions of the last few weeks was
that the movement included more indi-
H.
stance, was more active and In better
demand, obviously in anticipation that
some agreement might be reached at the
conference between the producers and
representatives of the Railroad Admins
| tration. The result of this meeting was
not announced until some time after the
close of the session, so that the actual
progress made was of very little infiu-
ence on the course of prices during the
day. But quite obviously much of the
buying was based on the theory that
| some agreement would be reached when
| would permit resumption OF the buying
Of steel products within a reasona Bile
| time. Still another reason for the bull
ish activity, If any other Is needed out
side OF the continued broad demand from
the public for stocks, was the extremely
| favorable report on the condition of
winter wheat. This showed a condition
as of May OF 1905 per cent. this being
| the only time in history that the crop
! has passed the best estimates of the
Department of Agriculture. Aside from
other considerations the wheat report in
| itself would account for a large part of
| the speculation which has been going on
| in Wall Street in ordinary times, but
there must be and is more conservatism
| in certain quarters at this level than
| there was some time ago when prices
| were lower.
Perhaps the outstanding feature of
| all Of the various groups of stocks to
| participate in yesterdays advances were
the shipping shares. particularly the
marines-Atlantic Gulf and one or two
others. But they\were not the only ac-
tive issues by any means. There was
the same buying in the higher priced
oils. food stocks, individual and spec
ialty shares that has been going on all
| during the current movement and, what
| Is more, there were no indications of
| any let up of the movement. The higher
priced rails continued disappointing,
but there was a resumption Of the buy
| ing movement in the lower priced issues
of the type of Texas Company and
Pacific, st. Louis and San Francisco and
others which have been mentioned in
| Wall street gossip as having prospects
| for oil strikes on some OF their prop
critics in the Southwest. The steel shares
| were also in greater demand for the
| first part of the session. Steel COM
mon went above par for the first time
since the dividend was reduced more
than a week ago. but interest died out
| at this level in the last two hours.
! The money market was slightly
| firmer during the day. but this had alb
! solutely no effect on the buying move
ment. 1t was a rather sharp change
from the conditions prevailing during
| the first part OF the week, but this is
to be expected so long as the Victory
Loan campaign Is under way and SO
| long as there is such tremendous alb
| sorption of stocks by the public. The
| wonder is that the money market has
| not been a great deal firmer than II
has been to date. The foreign exchange
market was generally firm all around.