The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-12-11
FINANCIAL NEWS
AND COMMENT
Liquidation Spreads in tStOck
Market and Is Reflected in
Commodities.

I Liquidation beginning at the start Of
business yesterday reached out broadly
into the stock market and was in evil
dence in cotton and grain. Railroad
shares and steel company stocks bore
the brunt of sales, and the persistent
Offering of such issues as Great North
ern preferred, Southern Pacific, Union
Pacific and Reading brought into the
market n condition of weakness of a
calibre not seen since the sharp re-
action of early November. Both stand
ard rails and others grouped in a sec
ondary class receded from l point to
nearly points before noon and the
recession of Steel common to a new low
price for the year, 1914. helped to I'M
settle the industrial list 1t appeared.
however. as though the abrupt decline
gradually brought forth supporting or
ders, especially among the leading rail-
road stocks and Steel, and after the
price list had been steadied, a steady
flow of short covering purchases APP
peared. an event not unusual on Friday
OF week in which stocks had been
moving toward lower levels steadily
The product OF these two forces in the
afternoon was n fairly brisk recovery,
which retraced more than half the
earlier decline in some directions, with
out. however. bringing the general level
of prices back to the starting point.
Steel closed with fractional net gain.
Call money lent at per cent
The days news was no more construc-
tive for the immediate future of business
and industry than in the preceding two
or three days The Steel Corporations
monthly report of untitled orders was
illuminating in respect to what has been
going on in the case of the leading
| producing unit and suggestive of the
scope of forward contracts being re-
ceived by competing concerns. A de-
cline of 5000 tons in bookings during
November was 100000 tons greater than
/ the financial community had expected
and indicated that the receipt of new
orders had fallen far behind the rate of
output Probably cancellations also
figured in the statement to II marked
degree. But whatever the proportion of
the two factors, the fact that buyers
were inclined to wait to see how market
conditions would size up In the early
plain The time when the corporations
rail prices for 1921 will be announced is
close at hand. and the trend of orders
in November brings forward rather
pontedly the question whether or not
the quotations in effect since March of
iast year will be maintained or lowered.
The Steel Corporations plants have been
working on a scale somewhat greater
IAN those of independents, but 1t is
/ indicated in the report that business has
been light with them too. The current
contracts, amounting to 9.021 900 tons.
show a decline of about 20 per cent.
from the maximum total of the year,
announced for July.
An influence behind the fall of 5is to
6 cents in wheat futures in Chicago,
accompanied by a recession OF other
grains and provisions. was probably in
formation that an appeal had gone from
the Chicago Reserve Bank asking mem
Der institutions TO assist In bringing
about the liquidation of farm products.
This afforded something of common
tary on the movement among farmers
to hold their wheat for prices compar-
able with those OF last May. and was
also significant of the need bankers are
finding to have farmers loans reduced.
Doubtless more along this line will he
heard from other agricultural commune
ties as 1t has been heard in commercial
fields