The New York herald., 1922-03-09
FINANCIAL NEWS
AND COMMENT
Stock Market Narrows-In,
dustrials Strong in Response
to Favorable News.

In large measure yesterdays strength
of particular industrial stocks was the
direct response of spectators to news
affecting them. especially shares OF
steel. railroad equipment and automobile
companies. which. through establishment
of several new high records for this
year. recorded definite impression In
the market place that conditions of
BUSINESS were gradually improving. The
influence on steel orders that is to come
from price advances in shapes, plates
and bars by certain independent pro-
ducers remains to be seen, but the
movement undoubtedly stimulated pur-
the iron Age notes, is still strongly in
buyerJ' hands. and on that account, if
this weeks advances can be maintained
on an enlarged volume of business. 1t
tion is better than recent reports indi-
Gated.
The market was unmoved by the dis
NAL display OF results in 1921. as out
lined in thu American Sugar Refining
Company's annual statement, showing
deficit of moro than S5,300.000 &c
companys common stock receded o..
fraction. One or two other reports OF last
years business were highly unfavorable
in respect to inroads into surpluses. but
1t was increasingly clear that corpora
tion managements were writing losses
down to bed rock, preparing for new
year on a new basis There Is en-
couragement in that frank manner OF
handling acca 1nts. which permits manu-
facturers to { Pure their costs on actual
inventory values and establishes the
true worth OF working capital vested In
materials, securities and reserves.
Dealings in stocks comprised some
what smaller list than those OF last
weeks broad market. showing that
speculative interest had become centered
in selected groups. but there were no
substantial signs of pressure anywhere.
Tho recession of the call loan rate from
AZ per cent. to per cent. helped the
rise along, and significance lay In the
fact that another rather abrupt decline
OF sterling exchange was ignored by the
stock market. At It's lowest level OF
4.34J sterling was nearly 10 cents be-
low last weeks top figure for sight
drafts, and the late recovery still left
the quotation below Tuesdays last price.
The other European rates were generally
steadier than the ratio on London. IT
looked as though speculative profits In
sterling were being taken rather hastily,
and probably tho sight OF receding
values urged marketing of round
amount Of bills which had been held
back when the market was rising.
The weekly steel and iron trade sur
veys supplied the days most interesting
industrial news. Moro iron and ingots
were made In February than were made
in January, and blowing in Of seventeen
new furnaces indicated that iron makers
were looking forward to enlarged spring
business. February's rate of iron manu-
facture, 5s,214 tons a day. was 5,l5o
tons greater than January's. and the
ingot expansion was from 75,1OO tons In
January to s6.22o in February. The
United States Steel Corporations mills
continued around 60 per cent OF
capacity in the first week of March.
which was approximately the average
Of the last half of February.
Changes of no more than u cent
bushel in wheat futures prices. being ad-
yances, showed that the report of stocks
on farms on March had been pretty Wen
discounted in the rise Of the last month.