The sun., 1919-06-12
FINANCIAL NEWS
AND COMMENT
Prices Continue to Move Down
During Greater Part Of
the Session.
WEAKNESS LESS EVIDENT
Trading Is Much Quieter and
Many Strong Spots in
Specialties Appear.
WEAKNESS LESS EVIDENT

Tho downward movement of orices
which was in progress at the closing
Tuesday continued throughout the best
Part OF yesterdays session, but the
weakness was not quite SO pronounced
for the reason that trading was very
much quieter all around and for the
additional reason that there were many
strong spots among the specialties. A
gcoo deal was heard in Wall Street dis
cusson about the warning sent out by
the Federal Reserve Board, and also
atout the speech made on the night be-
fore by former governor OF the Fed
erai Reserve Board. but generally speak
ms much less attentin was given to
these considerations yesterday. At any
rate the share list, while still containing
many points of weakness. was very much
stronger. and II is a fair assumption
that II these developments had furnished
real evidence of acute financial alarm
there would have been no such orderly
movement of security prices as took
pace on the Stock Exchange yesterday.
On the contrary. it was still the
op!nlon In conservative circles that the
Federal Reserve Boards statement was
ths accidenta1and not the real reason
t7r the decline. The fact that the warn
ing came at such an opportune time.
however, gave the traders lust what thew
mad been looking for, but IL 1t had
not been this development some other
would have been manufactured. for the
iaIket had become too top heavy to
permit further advance without a
SUBSTANTIAL reaction. As a matter of
iact there was much difference of opin-
ION yesterday as to whether the board
had directed the statement so much at
the speculation, which has been going
on in the Stock Exchange, as at the
wildcat speculation in the oils. II IL was
alinea solely for the protection of Liberty
oepoholders 1t must have been directed
az the wildcat speculation, for 1t Is a
Wen Known fact that the amount of
government bonds which have been
( converted into Stock Exchange securities
as result of the upward movement ia
negligible. Moreover. it was stated yes-
teFoay authorltatively that the present
urhet situation in case OF all the Lib
erty bonds has never been SO satisfac
tory since the securities were broupbt
OUT a fact which the Federal Reserve
board did not take into consideration ~
| the warning was directed against the
Stock Exchange.
however that may be, II at least gave
the trading fraternity the opportunity to
correct the technical position which
| everybody had been looking for While
|
been completed at the close last night
nor Is 1t likely to be for some DAYS to
come nevertheless the markets position
| mad been corrected sufficiently to permit
rair recovery at the finish This re-
coVery did not go as far as might have
been expected. but 1t brought many Of
the standard issues. including Steel
common back to about the preceding
days closing level On the other hand.
| there etr
out the list The tobacco stocks all
gained ground, and evidence of good
| buying continued in. practically all of
these Issues. particularly in the cases of
American Sumatra ana United Cigar
Stores. Bethlehem B was rather an ex-
ception to the general trend in the
steel group. and strength continued to
Characterize Haskell & Barker. Among
the rails the outstanding feature was
Pere Marquette.
The money market closed somewhat
easy, call money ruling at to Ga per
cent, as compared with and per cent
earlier in the day. This is expected to
be only temporary. however, for the rea-
son that at the end of the week the
INKS will be called up~n to finance the
second instalment of Federal taxes and
for the reason that at the end OF the
| current month the July l dividend dis
buIsements will be made These always
involve strain upon the banks for
several days before the first OF the month
and several days afterward, but it is only
a temporary situation, and should not be
confused with the trend from the long
| distance viewpoint. The foreign ex-
change market was generally unsettled,
with sterling weak and lire down about
points. On the other hand, francs
were fairly steady. as were most OF the
neutrals.