New-York tribune., 1920-12-16
Stock Prices
Irregular in
Dull Trading
Fresh Selling Checks Up
ward Surge and Profess
sionals Sell; Interest
in Dividend Action

In their irregular fluctuations yes
terday security prices indicated that
the market had emerged from the re
cent period Of necessitous selling
which eliminated on Monday in ses
sion of unusual activity and marked
weakness. The continuation yesterday
morning of the rally which carried
quotations sharply upward on Tuesday
in part reflected the conviction Of pro.
! fessional operators for quick turns
that the rebound would go further.
However, fresh selling tended tc
check the upward surge, and on en-
countering resistance floor traders who
in the morning acquired stock in many
instances sold out in the afternoon
This give and take of the professional
element tends to explain why security
prices rallied in the forenoon and
| slumped in che afternoon, closing fo1
the most part at the lowest levels OF
the day.
Although the budget Of news for the
day was unfavorable, in SO far as It
revealed inevitable retrenchment in
dividend policies by several important
corporations, the ebb and flow of prices
responded mainly to technical in
fluences. In marking the end Of def
mite movement in the market Monday
saw the termination of only one special
phase of the complicated motives that
have induced the sale of securities
Obviously the decline late last week
and on Monday was facilitated by the
clamorous effort of individuals and
corporations to convert securities into
cash needed to pay Federal taxes due
yesterday. This particular reason for
selling has now, of course, ceased to
operate. In recent weeks, too, commits
sion houses have reported heavy sales
to establish losses. These can with
/ technical propriety be made until the
end of the year, but some observers
expect diminution Of such sales in
the next fortnight, predicting orders
on the buying side from the same indi-
vlduals whose sales represented trans
actions to fix their liability for taxes
In terms of prices the net result of
yesterdays trading. which was quieter
than on the two previous days, was
decline in railroad and industrial
stocks, and a further decline in in.
dustrial bonds, which carried The
Tribune's average Of ten industrial
bonds to the lowest level of the year
The average of thirty representative
industrial stocks tumbled from 1885
to 1858, and that of twenty rails from
6270 to 62.25.
With important December Is trans
actions between the Treasury and in
dividual citizens under way, the banks
against whom outstanding checks hat
not yet been presented for collection
found themselves temporarily in in
creased funds, as they benefited from
the so-called float" This condition
was reflected in decline in call none,
rates from the renewal rate of 7 pei
cent to per cent later in the day
Moreover, limited sum of money or
all-industrial collateral was reportes
to have been lent for a fixed time
period at 7 per cent, marking a re
cession in this direction, too. The pre-
vailing rate, however. remained n!
per cent.
In the cotton market steadiness @.
price continued, but in the grain mart
the frmness of previous days was fol
lowed by a downward reaction as a re
suit of the publication of an increased
estimate of the winter wheat crop
Corn quotations, affected by the sam.
influences, turned lower.
The foreign exchanges moved slight
~ higher in terms Of the dollar. Ster
ling gained l cent TO the pound.