Evening star., 1920-06-24
STOCKS ARE FIRM,
zbUT TRADING LIGHT
; Money Advanced to "a Pei
Cent, Checking Early Move
ment-Better Tone.
BY STUART p. WEST.

IiICIU"OCllCt tVtlVs
BY STUART p. WEST.
, NEW YORK, June 24.-The stock
p market today gave fresh proof that
. for the most part it is in a well liQui-
dat condition.
For the third day in succession call
money renewed at per cent and
. steadily rose until in the afternoon it
got up to a.
announced a reduction in the divi-
dend, changing the stock from IS to
: 81 annual basis. This action, while
easily explained by the improbable
conditions that have existed for the
last year in the copper trade. and
which have been complicated recent
ly by the railway tie-up, had not been
generally expected.
Had the general market been at all
sensitive this news would have most
certainly had a depressing effect. But
rs il was, even in the group of cop
per shares outside of Inspiration. the
decline was very moderate, and in the
market generally the only effect of
the Inspiration announcement was to
Stop an early rally and throw the
trading back again into extreme leth-
argy.
Equipments Lead.
The market opened quietly, became
dull for a while, and then moved for
ward under the lead of the equipment
shares and various specialties. These
stocks the professionals discovered
were not at all easy to buy. The
equipment group was helped by the
knowledge that Baldwin Locomotive
Works had received $4,000. 900 order
from the French government. and that
I,nr0mnfIye ma had RI
increased its bookings by nearly
$4o.Ooo.000 since January first
; Crucible Steel led <the way in the
steels, and recent short sellers found
II difficult to get stock.
In the motor group General Motors,
which had disheartened holders by it's
tendency to sag on the slightest provo
cation, continued the recovery which
Started yesterday, and others similarly
responded
Those who imagined that the So
called political indictments involving
Tammany notables and the Corn Prod
ucts Refining Company would adverse
~ affect the market for the stocks
were soon disillusioned
The Mexican oils were strong in re-
sponse to the announcement that ship
ments from Tampico in May had
reached new high record.
-, Exchange Not Involved.
For some days past Wall street has
been full of ugly rumors that several
stock exchange firms had been in
-dicted in connection with the ex-
Bloitation of various cheap oil stock
fotations. There was much relief
therefore this afternoon when it be-
came known that this was untrue;
that no member of the exchange was
involved, nor did any of the listed
oil stocks figure in the federal true
bills.
In quarters which in the past have
been noted for their knowing where
the buying orders for certain stocks
originated it was said today that
many of the big people" who had
got out of the market last fall and
had stayed out all through the winter
were back in and were buying heavily
on a scale. These interests were said
to be picking up the steels, the equip
ments and the better grade of oil
stocks.
80 street More Cheerful.
There was a feeling in Wall street
today that the adverse factors which
had been hanging over the market
were fast being ironed out and that
better days were ahead. The market
letters sent out by the big wire
houses took this view and customers
were advised to buy stocks on al,
dips.
a. One big Broadway house said:
There is consensus of opinion
that the market will advance after
July 1st and 4th. This unanimity is
what everybody in Wall street be-
Geves has a habit of not transpiring.
We do not believe that the market is
going to wait for the public, and
those who persist in waiting until
after July or after the democratic
-
higher for stocks than they intend to
pay.
Groups operating in specialties
show no disposition to await politics
Or public participation before buying
their stocks. The sharp running up
and brisk rallies from time to time
are the result of scarcity of supply
once traders and insiders have bought
stocks on reactions. This portents.
to our way of thinking. preparation
for substantial advance. We feel
that this advance may start on any
one of the seven or eight trading
days remaining before July A.
The Bond Market
There was not much change in the
general position of the bond market
today.
= The high money rates continued to
work against any improvement in
prices. but on the other hand dealers
"hO hdu Selling OTQeTS TO execute re-
ported that in all standard issues thew
were able to get Off their bonds ad-
vantageouSly.
This is the great difference between
the present situation and that of
month ago, for then it was impossi-
Die to unload any sizable blocks of
bonds except at very considerable
sacrifice.
,. One of the features again today was
the appearance of selling orders orig
mating in banking quarters.
!. This is the same sort of thing that
was going on in a larger way imme-
diately after the federal reserve au-
fnorities came out with their restric
tive program toward the end of Nav.
Certain banks, in their endeavor to
strengthen their position, are sacrifice
ing bond investments.
But it is gratifying that this lio-
uidation is being much better taken
now than it was a month ago.
Liberty bonds moved over a mar
rover range than on any day in
long wLile. They were slightly lower
toward the close of the day, but the
decline was quite unimportant.
Equipment notes were among the
best acting in the market, the Penn
sylvania changing hands at lO1Z
against their recent low of l0I and
the Delaware and Hudson Is chang
ing hands al 99I