The New York herald., 1921-06-23
FINANCIAL NEWS
AND COMMENT
Stocks React After Early Rise
and Close Irregular-Call
Money at 5 Per Cent.

The impetus of Tuesdays recovery
yesterday and until noon the power OF
the rise was suggestive of sustained i'm
provement of prices. But the charac-
ter OF the market changed in the after
noon and the ease with which many in
dustrial issues receded from top levels
showed that the bear party was still
much in evidence and ready to put out
new lines of sales whenever quotations
tended to hesitate. The reaction. how
ever. was not surprising in view of the
sudden upturn of the preceding day. for
in times like the present, when opinion
is broadly divided In respect to under
lying conditions Of business, buyers are
likely to be cautious and not inclined to
support with enthusiasm a recovery from
a prolonged downward swing. 1t takes
time for a permanent change Of market
tendencies to take root. and In the light
of past experience the major price move
ment Of the next few weeks-assuming
that the retreat, which began early In
May. discounted some present difficulties
in industry-probably will be governed
by study OF the longer outlook for manu-
featuring and trade.
The reaction of the afternoon had
cushion to fall on In the shape Of earlier
advances of to points of the active
stocks. Hence the final price list was
merely irregular, weakness in such Is
sues as Bethlehem Steel. Chandler Mo-
tors, Pierce Arrow and Studebaker be-
ing partially Offset by gains of Cali
fornia Petroleum, American Tobacco
class B, Pan-American Petroleum. Texas
Company and others. The passing of
the Panhandle Railroad dividend, due to
unsatisfactory earnings and the desire
of the directors to await results Of pend
Ing wage cuts, evidently slowed down
dealings among rail shares. but there
were as many advances as declines
among them at the close. Call money
was again at per cent, with offerings
liberal. and time funds at 61a per cent.
were offered.
One handicap on survey Of under
lying conditions is appearing now in
unseasonably high temperatures in
many parts of the country which work
to slow down plant operations. But in
the steel trade current advices show
that SO far nothing has developed to
diminish stagnation which comes from
h. Lot g., 40 faxxv
The weeks surveys Of that industry
show that while production is on
low scale, the minimum of consumption
is steadily eating into stocks, paving
the way for a rather bare situation of
warehouses when broad demand ap-
pears again. The Iron Age reports that
operations Of blast furnaces and steel
works are slightly less than they we're
last week, while competition for busi-
ness is bringing concessions from the
price schedule as 1t existed on April 13,
when the Steel Corporations general
reductions were announced.
Sterling exchange eased off at the
start of business about a half cent to
the pound. later moving back close to
Tuesday afternoons final quotation of
3.75. The decision of the Italian Gov
ernment to discontinue restrictions on
transactions in lire exchange had no
particular influence on rates. and the
market. as a whole. was dull and
irregular.
Cotton continued to advance with a
moderate reaction from best levels near
20 to % points. The July wheat option
first rose S% cents bushel. a move
ment which did not carry the Septem-
Der contract along with it. and in the
afternoon prices drew back to the final
figures of Tuesday.