Evening star., 1921-12-05
SELECTED GROUPS
LEAD STOCK LIST
Traders Do Their Picking and
Market Orders Follow.
Equipments Firm.
BY STUART p. WEST.

| NEW YORK, December 5.-With
professional sentiment still skeptical,
the stock market made a remarkable
display Of vitality again today. There
| was no general forward movement.
for nowadays it is the fashion for
stocks to move by groups. But there
were more of these group advances
than on any day lately.
First, 1t was the equipment stocks.
with American Locomotive going
through par in anticipation of higher
dividends.
Then it was the shipping stocks dis
| counting the prospect of a ship sub
sidy.
Later it was the motor and tire
| shares and the high-priced tobaccos,
and then it was some of the oil
stocks.
What these numerous upward turns
plainly indicated on top of the sus-
tanned rise of the last week was a
| market position a good deal stronger
! than the majority Of critics have be-
lieved
From a technical standpoint. the alb
sence of the public from the specu-
| lative field has been a factor Of
strength. because there has been no
opportunity for the cliques and in
dividual operators who fought stocks
last summer and during the early au-
ttumn to distribute them. But, besides
| this, the sustaining influence of the
current investment demand, even in
| the speculative list, is something
which has been persistently under
estimated and then. too. there is the
case in the money market allowing
speculative interests for the first time
in years to get an abundant supply of
long-term funds with which to carry
stocks.
Counting on 1922.
All these conditions have contrib
uted to prolong the present upward
swing beyond the average Wall street
calculations. The market is not fig
! uring SO much upon the immediate
| trade news, which is neither better
nor worse than a month ago, but is
. venturing a forecast of the trade sit
uation next year.
New high prices were reached in
the United States war bonds. espe-
cially in the two victory issues. which
sold above par for the first time. and
the 4 " per cent bonds Of the fourth
loan, which touched SO. The general
run of bonds was strong again but
still lacked the upward push which
was back of their market a week ago.
Evidently investment capital, enor-
nous as has been its supply, is be-
ginning to feel the effects of the
great outpour of new securities
which has already occurred and
which is still in prospect.
American Locomotive.
American Locomotive got across par
for the first time since the early part
of 1920. 1t was the real leader of the
market. The facts regarding the finan-
ciai position of this company have often
cial pointed out. American Locomotive
earned its entire dividend for the year
twice over the first six months of 1921
A good season next year will un-
Goubteoly mean the raising Of the
dividend at least to per cent Ameri-
can Locomotive is being handled in pre-
cisely the sane way that American
Car and Foundry has been ard The
parallel between the two companies is
suggested by a reference to tie balance
sheets.
American Locomotive at the close of
June 1921, had $39,3SS.00 working capi-
tai. as against $13.527.O0O in 1914
Quick assets increased from S1,672.000
to $33.273,000 in the same period.
Pittsburgh Coal.
Despite the fact that the Pittsburgh
Coal Company was not one of these
mentioned as being about to form
gigantic combination, the shares of the
company got close to their high for the
year today. Pittsburgh Coal has always
been one Of the companies which showed
exceedingly good profits, but there have
been those who believed that the end
of the contract with the Steel Corpora
tion was a bearish rather than a bullish
factor. Despite this bearsh feeling the
stock has moved steadily forward The
latest explanation is that the directors
may increase the dividend on the COM
mon stock. Heretofore the common
has paid 5 per cent, the dividend de-
clared at the start of the year for the
entire period.