New-York tribune., 1920-10-17
Sentiment Hopeful,
Despite Reaction
In Short Session
Profit Taking and Profess
sional Selling, Stimulated
by British Strike, Garry
Stocks Slightly Lower

Stocks were under pressure during
the greater part of the two.hour ses-
sion at the exchange yesterday. The
market had not only to absorb much
profit taking Of the usual end-of- the
week character. but met increased offer
ings from the professional spectators,
who used the news from England, where
serious labor crisis threatens to close
up the coal mines next week, and an
other violent break in the price Of cot
ton as arguments for selling for the
decline.
The threatened industrial tie-up in
England, with all that might mean in
the dislocation Of international trade,
if only temporarily, gave Wall Street
much to think about. Tho further
liquidation in the cotton market also
caused some unsettlement in sentiment.
Spot cotton sold yesterday at 21 cents
pound. Last July the commodity sold
for immediate delivery st 1878 cents a
pound, so that the current quotation
represents a drop of more than so per
cent in tho valuation placed upon the
staple in the open market. Cotton fu
lures broke below 20 cents yesterday
for all the different options FOR the
first time since the present liQuidating
movement got under way.
In the movement of stock prices yes
terday the leading issues lost an av
eragc of fraction to full point. Rail
shares Joined with the industrial issues
in the movement, although there were
some notable exceptions, particularly
the Reading preferred stocks Reading
first preferred rose from low of 57A
to high of 81 and closed 3Ss points
up. and the second preferred closed
with q net gain of l Y points. Both Of
these issues have been advancing in
striking fashion since the beginning Of
the week, and the popular Wall Street
thery is that the preferred shares are
to share equally with the common in
dissolution plan. Reading common
moved counterwise to the preferred
issues, losing more than a point.
Among the specialties, Sears Rocbuck
stock, which recently declined sharply
on the announcement of new Short
term financing by the company. again
came under pressure, and yielded S
points net at 107 1a.
Speculative sentiment as the week
closed was exceedingly cheerful, de-
spite the mild reaction suffered by the
market. Expert opinion held that the
money market is entering upon period
Of greater case, and that moreover
stocks may within the next ten days
discount a Republican victory in No
vember By q further recovery.
TIE weekly statement Of the New
York Federal Reserve Bank disclosed
no striking changes. The local nstitu-
tion gained slightly in its total gold re-
serves, loss tn gold and gold ecrtif-
Gates being more than offset by q gain
froI1 cot tlomeOt fnnN at W0cH-
ington. Changes in bills rediscounted
we're relatively small. The banks ratio
of total reserves to deposit and Fed
eral Reserve note liabilities combined
stood at 3S.7 per cent at the end of the
week, compared with 3s.5 ner cent the
week before. An increase Of S42,166,-
900 in loans and discounts Of the Clear
ing House banks was attributed to
banking operations incidental to the
paying of the Anglo-Frcnch loan ma
turity on Friday.