The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-12-15
FINANCIAL NEWS
AND COMMENT
Stock Market Reverses Tone
and Prices Move Upward
Through Session.

Inc Ioilt u yesterday EtNAAAN
ket was exactly the reverse OF Mon
days. disclosing the aabsence OF neces-
sitous selling after the first half hour
and indicating a neavy Inflow OF short
covering orders An initial reaction,
which established several new low rec
ords for the year IN the Industrial stock
list, was 10 be expected after so severe
fall rs that of the preceding session.
There was certain amount OF specula-
tive accounts whose margins had been
impaired. but once this debris of great
decline had been cleared away, prices
turned strongly upward and reached
their best levels shortly before the close
Of trading. Railroad stocks, lately Of
as much demand as many of the promi-
nent manufacturing company shares. At
the end of the day net advances run
ming from to points were widely
scattered about, numerous issues gained
as much as they had lost the day be-
fore and wide spreads between bid and
asked quotations in final negotia lions
between brokers told of cautious offer
ings.
One or two reasons for the abrupt
alteration of the price trend suggest
themselves. although little light was
thrown upon the broader influences di-
recting the course of quoted values For
one thing. 1t was evident that most of
the selling for the sake of getting cash
to turn over 10 the Government for taxes
to-day had been completed on Monday.
Also there was a marked contraction
of sales to record losses for the next
| income tax statement once the market
began to recover, and 1t seemed as
though the earliest signs of resiliency
moved traders short of stocks to buy
in with the greatest speed possible.
\ This latter factor was disclosed by the
large blocks of Steel, Mexican Petro-
leum, Northern Pacific, Reading, South
ern Pacific and other issues which APP
peared continuously on the ticker in the
afternoon. A brisk short covering move
ment was to be expected in the light of
the fall of the last fortnight as soon as
the market tone improved, and presum-
ably this class of buying accounted for
most of the advance. But more than
little significance could be attached to
the presence of investment bargain
hunters in Wall Street brokerage houses
and to reports of stable purchases of
both rails and industrials for cash.
Cali money stayed at z per cent,
throwing additional emphasis upon the
thorough preparations the banks have
made for to-days transactions, and in
dicating that the liquidation Of securi-
ties and commodities has worked for
monetary ease, which should become
plain after the opening of the new year,
| If not before. In the grain market a
moderate recovery occurred. The vote
of the Senate to revive the War Finance
| Corporation presumably had some effect
in checking offerings of wheat and corn,
although opposition to the movement for
Government financial aid in marketing
surplus grain remained sufficiently clear
TO make uncertain the final acceptance
of this medium. 1t remains to be seen
how the desires Of the people with I'M
sold supplies on their hands may be
reconciled to the programme Of Reserve
Bank authorities and leading bankers
/ for normal processes in the markets.
which will not lean in any way toward
new initiation and increased burdens
/ upon taxpayers. Cotton gained a little
ground amid business handicapped by
irregular telegraph service to the South.
Sterling exchange advanced rs cents
TO 1886 "a, and the other rates were firm
as a general thing. The demand for re-
mittances on Scandinavian centres re-
| Elected recently increased imports from
the northern countries of Europe