Evening star., 1920-06-14
TRADING SMALL,
PRICES WERE OFF
Narrowness of the Market
Main Feature-Bonds
Neglected, Steady.
BY STUART p. WEST.

| WALL STREET, NEW YORK, June
| 1.-THE course of today's stock mar
ket was no indication whatever of
what Wall street thought about the
republican nominations.
! Prices went down because of the
/ fact that we are in narrow trading
market which easily becomes over
bought as well as oversold There
had been a sufficient advance in the
latter part of last week to discount
whatever stimulating effect the nomi-
nation of a conservative was likely to
have Immediately. The financial dis
trict treated the naming of Harding
as good news, but also as good news
which the previous advance In stocks
had fully anticipated
If there was not more published
comment from important banking
quarters it was because there was no
desire to advertise the fact that
Harding was just the right sort of
candidate from the point of view of
big business. If there had been any
doubt on this subject it would have
been dispelled by the way the nomi-
nation was brought about Actually.
whatever was said in a few houses to
the effect that by no means the
strongest man had been put up, there
was in secret practically unanimity
that the republicans had chosen
candidate who, in the opinion of large
business and financial interests,
would be classed as perfectly safe
Point Lower on Average.
As has been the case all through the
recent fluctuations. it was extremely
hard when last weeks buyers came to
unload to get within a point or so of
Saturdays prices. The market open
ed only slightly lower, but just as
soon as efforts to sell stocks We're de-
tected bids were promptly dropped
There was no great amount of pres
sure. but prices went off very easily.
BY afternoon the leaders OF the list
wsre off a point to three points, yet
WITHOUT having given the traders who
were carrying any considerable line
over tha week end chance to sell
Expect Lower Money.
Certainly there was nothing in the
money market Of the day to explain
the downward fGrn in stocks. Call
money renewed at s per cent, but
the supply was maihfestly on the in
crease and while no relaxation was
anticipated until af}er tomorrow
when the second instalin1ent on the
income taxes is out of the way and
the liberty bond interest has been
that rates would work easier>1ater IN
the week
Conservation Working.
Moreover. the statement of the local
federal reserve bank and still more
the combined statement of the federal
reserve institutions issued from
Washington showed for the first time
some indications of the much looked
for and the much hoped for credit
defiation.
The important points were, federal
reserve banks discounts on other
than war paper-meaning by this
commercial loans-were down con-
siderably and that federal reserve
notes. the continued expansion In
which has been a. source of perplexity
and of disappointment showed for the
first time. fair sized decrease. No
doubt the figures Of single week
cannot be too much depended upon.
But If last weeks results are con-
tinued for another week or another
fortnight it will be proper. to conclude
that the measures taken to cut down
credits have at length begun to be
effective.
The Bond Market
The bond market was almost abb
solutely stagnant and the average
price changes were smaller than on
any day of the year
This was true of the United States
government securities as we'll as Of
railroad and Industrial issues
The various liberty loans were as
near standstill as it would be pos
sible for them to be. They scarcely
varied more than a few cents either
way, but it was regarded as important
in negative way that the selling
movement which accompanied the an
nouncement of the Increased rates on
the new Treasury certificates had
subsided.
In other words the market for lib
erty bonds and victory notes seems to
have fully adjusted itself to the latest
increase in the cost of credit as
signified by the terms of the present
offering of Treasury bills. Pennsyl-
vania is. which at one time were
UP close to 103, were heavier again,
getting down to f01. These were the
first of the equipments out, and as
such had an advantage over subse-
quent issues. But a, price around 103
was altogether too high in view of
the later tenders by companies of
equally high credit of equipment notes
to yield to IN per cent.