The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-10-06
FINANCIAL NEWS
AND COMMENT
Steels, Equipments and Oils
Make Further Progress on
Up Side Of Market.
MOTOR ISSUES HOLD BACK
Rails Suffer Slight Setback
and Money Situation Is
Without Change.
MOTOR ISSUES HOLD BACK

| Still further progress was made yes
! teriay on the up side in the industrial
stocks as result of the hasty retirement
of the overextended short interest. no.
! tably in the steels, the equipments and
! the oils. but with those exceptions the
movement was not nearly as rapid nor
convincing as heretofore. The motor
stocks. for instance. were inclined to lag
| behind other industrials as II became
! apparent that the most urgent part of
| the covering had been completed and the
market did not have the strength OF the
rails as 1t did last week to fall back on.
Nevertheless the spectacle of rising
prices In the steels and oils made a very
unpleasant impression on the average
! market follower who sold stocks last
week expecting to get them back at
materially lower quotations., and in cases
| in which no attempt to cover stocks had
| been made that feeling manifested itself
| IN very marked gains. But as before
there was no indication of anything more
significant than short covering. The rails
were well purchased on the decline, but
!. It was not apparent that the strength Of
| industrials was attracting more than the
| usual outside following.
Speculative sentiment was naturally
improved as result of the Improvement
/, in prices, but there was, so far as out
ward appearances were concerned. no
| change whatever in the fundamental
market situation. With the short inter-
est heavily overextended In the steel
| shares, the market naturally was sem
| sitive to the optimistic statements which
were put out by the independent steel
| concerns regarding prices. The Street
| in its enthusiasm was inclined to believe
that the market might have overlooked
fthe significance Of those statements, but
| those who have taken the view that steel
| Prices necessarily would be reduced just
| IS other commodities have been, were
| still reluctant to admit that that industry
would be the only one to be unaffected
\ by the price cutting wave sweeping the
country Rather were they more con-
| WINGED than ever that the steel industry
! was on the verge of a price reduction
! that would bring the schedule of inde-
pendent concerns down somewhere near
the present schedule of the United States
Steel Corporation.
While the Industrial section of the
market was enjoying its rally the rails
continued to be pressed for sale on the
theory that those stocks had had enough |
rise to warrant a substantial reaction of |
technical conditions. The setback. how 4
ever. did not amount to more than a |
point in any direction. Several highi
Pacific. Reading. Southern Pacific and |
others. got down slightly from their
highs. but on the other hand the low /
priced stocks, like ST. Paul, made fairly |
good progress on the day as a whole,
the irregularity OF the |
better grade of rails The rally in the
industrials carried Steel common up
about 2 points at one time and the
equipments to about the same extent.
hut of that rain lost In fha
closing period, when money rose to 8 |
per cent. The oil stocks, like the steels,
reflected hasty covering. and an urgent |
demand for the stocks on the part Of |
the short interest. The motor stocks on |
the other hand. were heavy. and IL |
seemed as II the recent covering had |
resulted in materially weakening the /
inside market position.
The money situation was unchanged |
from that of Monday. that is to say re- !
newals were made at per cent. and |
hour. There was very little demand for |
money, however. or the rate probably |
would have gone higher. inasmuch as |
the market will have to prepare to-day |
for Government Withdrawals tomorrow
OF 100000. But while Wall Street |
processes to be worried over the day to |
day fluctuations of the call money mar
ket, those fluctuations are having very
little influence upon the stock market |
The principal thing which Wall Street Is
worrying about just now is the steel
situation, and along with that the price, |
cutting campaign which Is spreading
throughout the country. In connection
with the steel situation II is Anticipated
that several important announcements
regarding lower prices will be made
within day or two by independents.