The sun., 1919-05-10
FINANCIAL NEWS
AND COMMENT
Stock Market Has Heaviest
Day Since Speculative Wave
of Fall Of 1915.
ACTIVITY is UNIFORM
Prices Run Upward by Groups
and Transactions Are of
Broad Range.
ACTIVITY is UNIFORM

Not since the surge of public specu-
lation in the fall Of 1916 has Wall
Street had such boiling stock market
as was witnessed on the Stock Exchange
yesterday. Total transactions aggre-
gated almost a million and three quarter
shares and the scale Of activity aver
aged rather uniformly for each hour
But perhaps the outstanding feature Of
the days dealings was the rapidity with
which the various groups OF stocks were
Nhirled upward again rather than the
volume of business. The session was
also remarkable for the range and
breadth OF the transactions, and gained
increased Significance from the fact that
the standard shares. particularly the
steels. occupied n greater part OF the
financial districts attention than they
have on any other day for the last
month or more. The speculation in the
oils was still the most conspicuous in
so far as the general market was con-
cerned, but the indications of a shifting
of interest TO the standard issues were
gratifying 70 those who have maintained
all along that the market was too much
of n one sided AFFAIR.
There was no mystery as to the shift
ing OF interest In the steel shares The
final settlement OF the steel price ques-
ton. that is to say. the reversion back
TO an open market. has been considered
the only real solution of the problem all
along. and II goes without saying that
the Wall Street district, at least, was
highly gratified with the outcome of the
conference on the preceding day. The
steel shares may have been somewhat
disappointing in that the advance did
rot SO further. but there Is no doubt in
we'll informed financial circles that
eventually It will mean a resumption OF
buying OF steel products on large
scale. That the price fluctuations in
Steel common were moro moderate than
expected was due no doubt to the IN
certainty regarding to-day's Steel ton
mage statement. This Is expected to
show a considerable falling of in orders
on hand. the most conservative estimate
being about 100000 tons. However that
may be- IL is we'll known in steel circles
that this Is expected to be the last state
ment to make so poor a showing. With
the steel price question settled II Is ex-
pected that there will be an immediate
revival of buying. This will probably
be felt in the statement to re issued In
June The Improvement may not be
what some interests hope. but that there
will be some improvement II Is conf
IDENTIFY expected.
AS on the preceding day, there was a
great shifting about OF commitments
from one group of stocks to another dur
ing the day. Al the outset there was
considerable buying OF Steel common.
After this speculation shifted to the ma
rine shares, Royal Dutch. Texas. Sim
clair Oklahoma Producing and Refining
and. finally. back to the steels in the
Anal period with the statement from
Judge Gary. The remarkable thing about
tire days trading was the rapidity OF the
advances in a large number OF groups OF
stocks and the fact that activity could
be sustained on n large scale throughout
the five hours OF trading. There was a
good deal OF realizing all through the
dealings. which accounted for the irregu-
larity OF some groups of stocks at times.
but there was no real indications of any
substantial reaction. although undoubt-
eddy such movement Is long past due
at the present time. Nevertheless there
were indications here and there OF more
conservatism in the higher priced oil
shares. and for this reason Wall Street
was particularly gratifying at the pros
pect OF a shifting OF interest TO the steel
while readjustment Is being made in
the speclalties and other issues which
have occupied so much of the financial
districts attention OF late
The outstanding incident Of the day in
the foreign exchange market was the
weakness of Italian lire. which broke
points. Sterling was firm and the rest
Of the market was about unchanged from
the preceding days closing Bank clear
ngs for the week totalled s6,194, Az,
an increase of 10.4 per cent. over the
same week last year and OF 22.1 per cent
as compared with the corresponding week
in 1917,