The New York herald., 1922-11-22
FINANCIAL NEWS
AND COMMENT
Stocks Swayed by vagaries of
Professional Operators in
Dull Session.

Ii Was plain TO be seen yesterday that
developments affecting individual stocks
and tho whinas of professional specu-
lators were solely responsible for price
movements In the general share list.
Public interest was almost entirely alb
sent. and for the moment at least there
is little indication of it's revival IN any
Of the financial markets. This Same dull
and dispirited condition existed in vir-
tually all other markets. too. In bonds
tho tone was flrmer than for eeveSal
days Immediately preceding, but total
transactions were very small as meas
ured In terms OF business done from day
to day over q period Of almost q year
and a half.
1t was only necessary to analyzo the
movements OF various issues on the
Stock Exchange to realize tho almost
complete lack of significance contained
pools havo an interest, stocks In which
the selling pressure has for the moment
been overdone and stocks In which such
dubiously constructive developments as
stock dividends, &C.. made their appear
iance were the ones which advanced over
rather wide range.
On the other hand, it was those issues
most susceptible for one reason or an
other to bear pressure, or those stocks
in which there Is an insufficient central
lied interest to engender support, that
declined In the same degree Between
these two extremes was the general list
which because OF lack OF interest nuc-
tuated narrowly and aimlessly and
closed with net changes more or less
evenly divided
About the only influence exerted In
the financial markets, by President Har-
ding's message was a little furry In
American Ship and Commerce shares. In
which trading was a iittlo more than
ordinarily active at a fractional advance
over Mondays closing price. What the
President had to say about helping the
farmer certainly had no effect whatever
on the course of security prices.
Tho Governments plans to aid the
agricultural districts OF for a ship CUB
sidy long ago ceased to interest the
financial community. They have been
worn threadbare as stock market argu-
ments. II the President hadIsee fit at
this time to discuss soldier bonus legis-
lation or. tax revision or something
which Wall Street regards with interest
the days markets might have told a
different story.
Following Its remarkable recoveries
from the lows established u fortnight
ago, foreign exchange rates were In
clined TO softness yesterday. This, how
ever, could not have surprised any one,
for certainly any market was entitled
to q momentary pause In its trend IT
was the market for foreign money. 1t
has been maintained ever since tho ry
dictionary movement got under way ?
month and more ago that by far the
greatest portion of business in exchange
was of speculative character. There
can be little doubt of this In View OF
what has happened in the last two or
three weeks. Therefore it would be
unreasonable not to look for setback
such as WAS caused yesterday. IL the
theory of heavy speculation In foreign
cuTrcncieS be accepted, then IL also must
be recognized that the big. rallies were
largely the result Of short covering.
With that accomplished to a largo de-
gree, "a sharp reaction was most GER
tainly in order. The only wonder OF II
was that it did not go further.
Cotton regalned some of its SHARP
losses of Monday, and wheat likewise
rose above s1.20 bushel for the De-
cember option.
The call money market was featured
by Il run up In the late trading to s u
per cent, rejecting a momentary string
cncy caused by the withdrawal by the
Government OF s9,ooo,oo0 from deposit
in this district.