The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-09
FINANCIAL NEWS
AND COMMENT
Wave of Selling Carries Prices
Down Without Any Sig
nificant Rally.
LEATHER STOCKS HOLD UP
Public Utilities Resist General
Trend, as Do Some of the
Rail Issues.
LEATHER STOCKS HOLD UP

Any one who had watched the action
| of stocks In the last hour OF Saturdays
market could scarcely have expressed
surprise over anything that occurred In
yesterdays trading. The indications
were very plain on that day that the
market had started a new downward
movement, and II those indications had
been misunderstood 1t was only neces-
! sary to glance over the Sunday papers
! for evidence Of fresh material for the
bear contingent The Sunday papers
were literally full Of plant shutdowns.
OF price cutting and bearlsh interviews
with persons prominent in the business
world. and on top of them came two
very unfavorable bank statements. Those
statements actually were not much
changed from the preceding week, but
they showed conclusively that 1t was
virAllly impossible to have easy money
for the next few days at least, and thes
fact in itself made the bear position
more secure than 1t would have been
under ordinary circumstances.
The net result OF that combination OF
developments was a wave of selling at
the very start that carried prices down
anywhere from a point to 4 points and
more. Although the first hour was the
days weakest period. there was no rally
worth speaking of at any stage OF the
proceedings. 1t appeared to be a case,
Just as 1t has been on at least eight
other occasions this year. Of letting the
market run its own course and as to
how far the selling would go before It
was counteracted by scale buying, which
Is going on just under the current range
of quotations. There were no indications
| that that buying was coming In In suffi-
cient volume yesterday to stem the tide,
but there were nevertheless, a good many
issues that appeared to be selling under
their intrinsic worth at the close. Still
the movement admittedly had not been
| fully completed in some directions, and
| 1t appeared to conservative interests I'M
til that selling has fully run It's course
there was not much use Of expecting q
rally Of substantial proportions
1t was noticeable that the leather
stocks were among the most prominent
of those issues which resisted the DOWN
ward movement. The leather stocks 1t
will be recalled were among the first
to go down last fall when the movement
started. Consequently 1t was natural
that they should show signs of coming
back first. The public utility issues also
stood out against the general trend, as
| did certain rails of the type of Southern
! Pacific. The general railroad list, how
ever, went down along with the indus
trials, but II was merely q question of
conserving profits and buying them back
/
the list the liquidation was real and
1t was especially heavy in the oils, steels,
rubbers, specialties, &c. Steel common
was sold throughout the day, and at the
close II was only a matter of q frac-
ton above the low of the year. The
independents, however, were nearly all
at new lows for the year, as were the
motor stocks. General Motors was
dumped overheard in large blocks again,
and sold at the equivalent Of $50 for
the old stocks.
| The money situation operated against
the market all day, as might have been
expected in view of the decline in re-
serve ratios on Saturday and the deficit
in surplus reserve in the Clearing House
statement. The high was 10 per cent,
as was the case all last week, but, as
! indicating the money market of the
future, 1t was significant that the Gov
eminent did not announce any further
Withdrawals for to-day This will mark
the first time in several weeks that the
Government has not withdrawn from
! the banks on Tuesday, but 1t is doubt
| full whether this will result in easier
money to-day. Very serious attention
was again given to the exchange mar
kets, in which another severe break
| occurred again In sterling. That ex-
| change sold yesterday at its lowest
since last March, and, what Is more.
foreign exchange bankers were not con-
WINGED that the downward movement,
| had fully run It's course, because the
movement of exchanges reflects sea-
sonal operations which usually take
| long time to run their courses.