The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-02
FINANCIAL NEWS
AND COMMENT
In Slight Rally Speciality Is
sues Make Best Showing in
Prediction Market.
SOUTHERN PACIFIC GAINS
Rails Improve and Steel
Shares Progress - Motor
Stocks Do Better.
SOUTHERN PACIFIC GAINS

Wall Street finally succeeded in get
ting semblance OF an election rally
in yesterdays trading. but It was very
tame affair indeed after all the ad-
vertising which had been put out In an
ticipation of such a movement for the
last three weeks It was really more
OF technical rally than It was an
election rally. It probably would have
occurred In any event in view OF the
heavily oversold condition OF the stand
ard leaders. but the fact that II came
on tho eve OF election gave Wall Street
good excuse to call IL such. There
were still few people. however, In the
financial district who actually held out
the hope of the market making a re-
spouse TO the election after tho votes
have been counted, but this was adj
mittedly only half-hearted hope. The
best opinion in the Street was that IL
the market intended to respond to the
election II would have started up at the
time of the Maine election instead of
waiting to discount the matter after It
had taken place.
The market did actually open higher
and few stocks of the type Of South
ern Pacific gave a very interesting ac-
count OF themselves, but this did not
constitute the kind of rally that Wall
street has been accustomed to in the
case of past elections. 1t was en-
tirely speciality rally with only such
STOCKS going up as were being in
fluenced by separate and distinct consid-
erations that had no bearing whatever
on the general list What all of this
demonstrated again was that it wac not
election. money or any other considera-
ton but simply the plain fact that the
market was still engaged In the task OF
81 i,,er
thermore, the market gave excellent
testimony that except for occasional
spurts. due to short covering, this pro-
cess Is going. on continually. While
southern Pacific was having its squirt
on the up side, the Street was reminded
of price-cutting again by the weakness
OF the rubber stocks. and of business
readjustment by weakness in Endicott-
johnson.
The squirt in Southern Pacific nat
urally helped the railroad shares, but
Whatever Improvement there was was
due entirely to the strength of this
issue. The general disposition in so far
as the railroad shares were concerned
was to await further light on the vast
difference between the September gross
and net railroad earnings. In the in
dustriai department progress was re-
corded where the market had been
oversold. as, for instance In the steel
shares. Elsewhere the rally was hardly
worth speaking of, despite the fact that
the average price of twenty Industrial
shares showed fractional advance.
The motor stocks also acted better than
the general run OF industrials. for the
reason that they too had been over
sold, but the real fireworks occurred
in Southern Pacific. That stock was
run up sharply on the expectation that
for the disposition OF It's oil lands fol-
lowing the close of the market.
There was no change again In the
money situation despite the apparent
Improvement I'm the bank, statements
en- Saturday. Call money renewed at
per cent, and. as was the case last
week, the rate was advanced to 10 per
cent In the afternoon for new accom-
modations. Furthermore, there Is little
prospect for easier money for the rest
of the week, as there will be SS,0o0,0O0
of Government Withdrawals tomorrow
and more on Thursday. The banks,
therefore, will have to make prepara-
lions for those Withdrawals, and the
chances are that those preparations
will keep money firm for the rest of
the week There Is also distinct move
ment of funds out OF town by small
institutions for the purpose of window
dressing for bank call that Is ex-
pected sometime this month. Inc local
banks also are making preparations for
this call and naturally want TO make
as good n showing as possible