The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-04-20
FINANCIAL NEWS
AND COMMENT
Short Session Has Most Active
Trading of Week and
List Is Strong.
FEATURE Is THE MOTORS
Bank Statement Shows Gain
of Close to $13,OOO,OOO in
Surplus Reserve.
FEATURE Is THE MOTORS

Dealings In stocks yesterday were on
| about the most active scale for the week.
| The session, indeed. was extraordinarily
busy for Saturday, sandwiched In be-
tween two holidays. and testified TO the
| revival of interest which Is being mani
| tested In listed securities, or rather in
certain speciaities and individual issues
! which have been active in the Wall
| Street market lately. The share list,
| under the circumstances of heavy profit
! taking in most of the favorite industrial
issues, was as strong as the market was
| active. The conspicuous features of the
session were the motor shares, the food
| stocks and the shipping shares. just as
has been the case all along. The specu-
| lation in these Issues was continued on
the same lively scale as earlier in the
week, and nearly all issues went sub
stantially higher for the day, despite the
| one-sided appearance of the market and
the general belief that reaction is long
| past due.
The immediate incentive in back Of
| the speculation In the specialties again
( was the increasing public demand for
| stocks, just as has been the case for
| weeks past. There was no real news Of
| any kind upon which the movement
could be justified. Indeed, II begins to
look as though the market in these is
sues has been taken out of the hands OF
| Wall Street entirely. and that the public
Is proceeding along the same lines thai
were familiar In the big markets OF both
1915 and 1916. The report that the
| President had cabled Director General
| Hines unfolding his contentious in the
price controversy failed to materialize.
| 1t now appears as though there will be
another series of conferences at which
an attempt will be made to patch UP the
difficulties between the two parties This
was in a general way gratifying to Wall
| Street. 1t means that eventually there
will be some unsettlement of the problem
so that business can again proceed with
some assurance that prices are to be con-
tinued at the same level for at least an
| other year. Steel producers, that is to
say some of them, will not look with
favor upon further cut in prices, which
unQuestionably will be the result of the
conference; but 1t should prove a favor
able development, at any rate, IL the
conferences result in the settlement of
the one question which seems to be hold
ing everything else up. At least It will
allow the Trade Board to proceed in
other lines of industry which are being
held back by price considerations.
To same extent the activity in yester-
days stock market was surprising. 1t had
been expected that the market would
continue along the same lines as Thurs
days and that perhaps the traders would
take advantage of the absence OF many
large Wall Street interests from the dis
trict to bring about reaction. No such
thing actually occurred. On the con-
trary the speculation in some directions
appeared to be livelier than ever. All
of the motor issues were advanced with
enthusiasm. The food stocks lost none
OF their recent favor. neither did the
shipping shares, which received addi-
tional stimulus by the declaration Of 10
peg cent. on account of the deferred
dividends on the preferred stock OF In
ternational Mercantile Marine on Thurs
day afternoon. The only disappointing
feature about the trading was the con-
tinued heaviness of the rails These
issues, while largely neglected, again
bore evidences of important liquidr ton
from outside interests. The theory of
Wall Street Is that the rails have dis
counted about the worst that can pos
sibly happen. Yet there seems to be a
gradual selling all through the list. with
the possible exception of Southern Pa
cifc, Union and one or two other issues
The bank statement disclosed a gain
in surplus reserve Of approximately
5000. 900, which was due in large part
to an increase in reserve credits at the
Federal Reserve Bank OF New York
The foreign exchange market was slug
gish and few changes were reported in
rates from the closing figures OF last
Thursday. Bank clearings for the cur
rent week aggregated 6.S22.06s,471.
These figures compare with clearings of
Sc, 6,607,s56 in the preceding week
and represent gain Of 5 per cent. over
the corresponding week OF last year.