Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-07-19
MARKET WAS Give
AND TAKE AFFAIR
Traders Played Only for Small
Turns and Shifted
Constantly
Stock sales today on the New YORK;
exchange. as complied by the Evening
Sun. totaled 3O5, 100 shares.

New York. July 19.--The New YORK
Evening Suns closing financial review
today says:
The stock market opened this morning
with traders in a gloomy mood and the
main movement of prices during the
first half Of the session was downward.
Not until losses Of 2, or points had
been registered by the industrials and
Of point or so by the rails. did the
list show any rallying power. This
change in the course of prices was
brought about by drop in the call
money rate to per cent after having
renewed at o per cent.
Threats Of n widespread strike of rail-
way employees in case the wage awards
to be announced tomorrow are not
satisfactory was the general reason as
signed for the early unsettlcment of
stocks. At the same time. the high
call money rate added to the pcssimism
which has been rampant in trading
circles for the last week and the pro-
fessional element proceeded to operate
on the short side.
Conspicuous issues such as Baldwin.
United States Steel, Mexican Pctro-
leum, Studebaker and United States
Rubber were pushed well under Satur-
days closing levels although selling
was not heavy. There was virtually no
demand for stocks in the forenoon, save
at concessions. and bear traders had
things pretty much their own. way for
q time.
While the railroad strike threat was
disturbing, it is doubtful If the street
took it very seriously. although short
| sellers made lot of it: at any ratc
railroad shares were not as weak as
the industrials. prices in this quarter
merely, sagging from fraction to a
point before they met support. Read
ing was down point at SS and South
ern Railway yielded to 2S1I. Trading
was very light in all sections of them.
That it was the monetary situntion
with which traders were concerned os
much as anything else was evident from
the quick rally which followed the cas-.
ing OF the call rate. After getting down
to ll59S Baldwin reboundcd to above
III and Steel common. which in the
early dealings was down to 0O19. came
back above 81.
The weekly bank statements dis.
closed some slig hit improvement in re-
! ''''' P''''iVh. DuL IL was lnSuHrlpnt
to warrant any expectations of impor-
tant change in money conditions. The
day market was nothing more than a
professional give and take affair. with
traders playing only for small turns.
consequently. quotations shifted rap
IDLY. the market appearing very weak
at times as short lines were put out and
against displaying strength when con :
tracts were retired.
The market was obviously awaiting
the wage award scheduled to be- an
nounced tomorrow by the railroad labor
board. If this is accepted as satisfac
tory by railroad employees it will per
nit the rail stocks to anticipate en- in
crease in freight rates, announcement,
regarding which is expected in the near
future.
In the last hour many stocks recov
cred all of their early LOSSES and in
numerous cases showed small net gains
This was the result of a general cover
ing movement by the shorts when they
discovered that the raiding tactics were
not causing a reduction of liquidation
Baldwin Locomotive extended its rail-,
to above 11S, and Mexican Petroleum
moved back to about 100. Trading con
tinued dull up to the close. and ther,
was nothing to suggest that the rail-,
was caused by anything more than tn,
oversold condition of the market.