Evening star., 1922-02-20
STOCK MARKET
FIRM TO Strong
Rail Buying Is Resumed on
Broader -ScaIe-Foreign
Oils Feature.

NEW YORK, February 2u.-torelgh
oils were the outstanding features
at the active and firm opening OF to-
days stock market. Adjustment of
export taxes between the Mexican
government and American, oil com
panies resulted in an opening ad-
vance of IL. points for Mexican Ie-
troieum. this being doubled In the
next few transactions.
The strength of foreign exchanges
with British and French remlttahces
at new high levels. prompted lur
ther covering OF snort con , aeaS ai'
rails, equipments and other specula-
tive favorites. Missouri laclhc pre-
ferred rose y points, ST. Louis q
San Francisco common ! point. and
the coalerS. especially Reading and
lehigh Valley. gained large fractions:
Sugars and chemicals represented
the tirmer SpecialtieS.
Shippings Are Active.
Last weeks accumulation of low
priced or speculative rails was re-
Sumed on a broader scale during the
morning. St Louis Southwestern
common and preferred, St. Louis 4
San Francisco common and preferred.
southern Railway common and pre-
ferred, Chicago Great Western. Kan
sas City Southern, Texas & Pacific,
Western Pacific and New Orleans.
Texas and Mexico, rose l to points.
Royal Dutch and Pan-American
followed the further rise OF Mexican
Petroleum.
Shippings were active and strong.
especially Pacific Mail and American
Ship and Commerce. Motors and ac-
cessories, including electrical equip
ments, rose y to points.
Conspicuous weakness was shown
by Seneca Copper. Columbia Gas and
National EnamelinG. the latter los
ing points. Call money opened at
4 per cent.
Rise in Exchange Continues.
This was one of the most interest
Ing and important days of the year
in the various markets. The remark
able rise in the foreign exchanges
continued. In the case of French
francs this advanced assumed an even
more violent character carrying rates
for the first time since the spring of
1919 we'll across the nine-cent level.
Sterling also made a new high. GO
ing through the $4.3S&4 top of fort
night ago.
Another extraordinary upturn oc-
cured in the wheat market, which
sent the May option ahead cents
a bushel An. urgent demand for for
panied the upward rush of the ex-
changes. French SIS and 1l.S went
through all previous tops.
Broad. Strong Market.
The immediate result of these move
ments, which signify so much for the
business and financial outlook. was
the brOadest and most conVincingly
strong stock market yet seen in 1922.
The street saw in the continued ad-
Vanc. of wheat options a clear indi-
cation that the farmers buying power
would come back. giving a powerful
stimulus 10 railway traffic and to
trade in general.
1t was in the resumption of the rise
in the exchanges future promise of
revival in the American export
trade, although for the exchanges to
recover it has been necessary for
Europe temporarily to keep its pur-
chaseS in the American market down
TO the lowest possible figure.
Demand for Rails.
The demand for railway issues was
quite as much of feature as the de-
luand for induStrials. No doubt much
of the buying of the non dividend
paying railway stocks was of high
ly speculative character, yet it was
fully warranted in most instances by
the current show of earnings. 1t
must be remembered. however, that
the Developments in the grain trade.
so far as they bear upon the railway
tonnage outlook, have a twofold sig
nlflcance.
The most direct reaction to the rise
in wheat was in the shares OF the
companies whose clientele is mainly
or wholly among the farmers-the
stocks of the farm implement makers
and the mail order companies. The
same characteristic noticed all
through the recent market-a DISPOSE
tion to treat unfavorable earnings
reports as water over the dam-was
again exemplified.