Evening star., 1920-07-14
MARKET IS ERRAT|C;
MOTORS ARE WEAK
Special influences Exerting
Themselves on Specific
StockS-CoaI a Factor.
BY STUART p. WEST.

NEW YORK. July 14.-It could not
be said that the stock market today
had any general tendency. Some
stocks were definitely strong and at
various stages moved forward. Other
stocks were just as decidedly weak
and few of them broke rather badly.
Wall street came down to business
inclined to look upon the results or
yesterdays trading as indicating that
the market was becoming oversold
again.
Sentiment was helped by the pub
lication of the Lackawanna Steel re-
port for the second quarter OF the
year. The Lackawanna figures. which
conditions at the steel plants in gen.
eral, made a very favorable compari-
son, both with the first quarter OF
1920 and the second quarter of 1919
In both of these periods there had
been heavy deficit; the company had
order to pay dividends. But in the
three months ended June 80 net earn
ings, after full. allowance for taxes
and after deduction of interest
charges, were nearly s2,00o.ooo, and
this was enough to more than re-
store to surplus the drafts OF the f1rst
quarter besides allowing for the divi-
dend requirements of the second three
months of the year.
Helped the Stock.
While it was true that the period
covered by the Lackawanna report
did not reflect except, perhaps, to-
ward the very end, the coal shortage
and it's effect in compelling a slow
down, the figures nevertheless pro-
vided a considerable stimulus tenn
porarily.
Lackawanna Steel ran up nearly S
points from its low of yesterday, and
this induced enough short covering to
bring about advances of a point to
2 points all through the industrial
list. -t-A
The Mexican oils, benefting instead
of suffering from the fuel shortage,
likewise held their ground quite well
and there was some special buying
for a while in Reading and one or
two of the low-priced issues
Acute Weakness i'm Motors.
But whatever inclination to re-
covery there had been was abruptly
checked toward midday by the de-
velopment of acute weakness in the
motor shares and in the tire group.
The reasons why these two classes OF
stocks should be out of favor have
been steadily forcing themselves
more and more upon public atten-
ton.
Within the last few days it has
been limited that at least one of the
large automobile companies was get
ting ready TO cut prices. Ihls morning
an advertisement appeared in which
the export branch of another COM
pany offered to sell for immediate de-
livery and at cost, one-third of the
purchase price to be paid down and
the other two-t thirds on time.
1t was the idea that automobile
production had caught up with and
gone beyond the demand that was
back of the selling of motor shares.
The tire companies, it is well un-
derstood, are still more overstocked
with goods. which they are finding 1T
hard to get rid of and on which they
are also experiencing difhculty IN
obtaining suitable accommodation at
the banks. The break in the tire
shares was easily explainahle by
these unfavorable trade conditions.
So it was an adverse situation in
their respective trades. that was ac-
countable for the special weakness in
American Wool and the heaviness In
the leather stocks.