Evening star., 1921-12-30
TAX OPERATIONS
FEATURE MARKET
End of the Year Marked by
Loss and Gain
Taking.
BY STUART p. WEST.

NEW YORK, December 3o.-Today's
market, both in stocks and in bonds.
was SO complicated by tax recorded
operations as to scarcely represent
anything at all. These operations had
to be conducted for cash because any
fresh transactions Initiated today or
tomorrow in the usual way would not
ngure in the business for 1921.
Between purchases and sales for
cash and those regular way" there
were differences of a half point to a
point. They involved. undoubtedly, a
preponderance Of sales, but there was
a good deal Of short covering also by
traders on the short side who had
curiously confused movement of
prices, yet with an underlying note of
| strength.
Nearly all the moves in individual
stocks were upward and in some in
stances the rise was quite sharp.
lnasmuch as tax selling, for a long
| time. has been telling against a large
number Of stocks down materially on
the year. the prospect of this pres
sure being lifted. as it will be when
business is resumed next Tuesday,
was not lost sight Of in the calcula-
1t ives largely responsible for the
, strength Of the sugar stocks and
some Of the low-priced rails. like St
Paul. common and preferred.
Sears-Roebuck naturally had a
violent upturn on the overnight an
nouncement OF the measures taken to
improve the company's financial po--
sition and tide over the period Of
business depression. There was par
ticular strength in American Ice,
Standard Oil of California. Railway
Steel Springs. Computing, Tabulating
and Recording and numerous other
specialttes. But the greater part of
the list. while consistently frm. was
dull and not much changed.
Sugar Stocks Strong.
No group of stocks can move now
adays without starting a merger ru-
NOR. When the sugars began to get
active on the upside this morning the
there was to be combination Of
some Of the Cuban producers with one
or two American refiners.
OF course, there was little or no real
basis for this report, and it was wholly
unnecessary as an explanation for the
advance in the Sugar shares. The
market for sugar securities has been
long exposed to the very worst pos
sible trade news. and when a market
knows the worst and has thoroughly
adjusted itself accordingly. an upward
turn is invariably near. A further
reason for the sugar stocks getting
better today was that they have suf-
fered almost more than any other
part OF the industrial section. by the
selling to record tax losses, and from
this selling they are now to be re-
lieved.
General Motors.
Some OF the selling Of General
Motors today was for cash and could
therefore be set down as tax opera
tions. But by far the greater por-
tion was selling regular way" and
ton. The street ceased to discuss
whether the dividend would or would
not be declared at the meeting on
Thursday. 1t turned its attention to
the result on the market with the
dividend passed. The general feeling
ton of General Motors and Of the
fact that a good year is looked for
in 1922. the present selling price of
the common stock is pretty near low
enough to discount any action that
may be taken.
Tax Operations.
Transaction that were inspired by
income tax considerations cut a large
figure in the market today.
Inasmuch as only purchases and
sales for cash could be cleared today
and tomorrow, that Is in time to
count in the record of 1921. there
were an unusual number of these.
In the low-priced rails, and in the in
dustrials, which were down consider
ably on the year. it was the seller
who was establishing his losses.
In case Of other stocks, like the
equipments. which were a good deal
higher than they were twelve months
ago. It. was the speculator on the
short side buying in his contracts who
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