Evening star., 1923-02-13
WILD PRICE JUMPS
!. IN STOCK MARKET
Speculative Enthusiasm at
Highest Pitch of Season.
Sugars Again Lead.
BY STUART p. WEST.

Special Dispatch TO The Star.
NEW YORK, February 13.-Today's S
market saw speculative enthusiasm at
its highest pitch of the season.
An accumulation of buying orders
over tho holidays, large part coming
from the outside public, swept prices
forward at the opening. subsequent
ly some OF these gains were lost, but
in many other instances they were
increased as the session went on, and
this in the face of very heavy proft-
taking sales by the pools and the pro-
fessional element generally.
A jump Of nearly a cent in the price
of raw sugar to 5h a pound aroused a
fresh wave of excitement in the sugar
stocks. All of these moved forward
another to 4 points. Cuba Cane
Sugar preferred was up over II points
from where it was selling only week
ago, Punta Allegro IL points. American
Beet Sugar 10 and Cuban American
Sugar 10. South Porto Rico Sugar,
escaping the duty which the Cuban
producers have, to pay. was up 20
points from where il started week
ago.
Independent Steels Strong.
Next to the sugars the Independent
SteelS were today the most prominent.
Republic Iron and Steel was the lead
er, still feeling the effect of it's re-
markable showing during the fourth
quarter of 1922. when earnings at the
annual rate of nearly $40 share were
reported. This was before the big in
crease in steel prices which has
come since the first of the new year.
Baldwin Locomotive made a new
high for the present movement and so
did Lima, following the statement
RI n7i ioll haf Si I'M
of railway buying had begun to be
compiled have orders for locomotives
been as large as they are at present.
The markets today took the view
that the European situation, while 1t
might not have improved, had GER
tainly grown no worse over the two
day recess, and that therefore there
was nothing to interfere with con-
tinucd discounting of the favorable
features Of the trade situation at
home.
Production statistics. the further
tendency toward rising prices In the
principal industrial lines, predictions
of greatly enlarged earnings begin
ming with the first quarter of the year
and leading to a larger distribution
of dividends-these were the motives
back of the eager buying movement
in the stock market.
French Francs Weak.
Insofar as the days markets had
sign affairs the expression was con-
fined to the exchange market. French
francs turned definitely weak again.
They lost fully half the entire re-
covery of last week and were down
within little more than quarter of
a cent of The extreme low of fort
night ago. This was a perfectly clear
rejection of the judgment in financial
circles. first that the French cam
paign in the Ruhr from the standpoint
of collecting anything like full repar.
ations has so far been failure and
second that the ultimate ability to
force Germany into paying enough to
cover the huge deficit in the French
budget is extremely doubtful.
Sterling displayed the same indif-
ference to the movement of continen-
tai rates that it has all along. 1t
was off only slightly from it's high
record since 1919-the figure OF 1859
reached in December, 1922.
Public Buying Stocks.
Nothing that occurred in any OF
the markets of the day approached
In interest the dealings on the stock
exchange There was no diSputing
the fact that the public was in the
market in full force. in other words,
that Wall street Syndicates and pro-
feSsional operations had obtained the
goal which they had been striving
for for the last two months. That this
campaign will eventually lead to the
same excess AS the Duil
Of last August and September may
safely be predicted.
The difference in favor of the present
market is that the business revival
which, six months ago, had only begun
10 get under way. has now eventuated
into a state of something like real pros
perity. The main thing still is not the
increase in the industrial output, but
the return to profitable price levels.
Here is the element of strength which
til" situation Of laSt summer lacked.
'"hc opening sale o. North American
corIEon today nearly points above
Sa.urday's final was set down as the re-
sui: Of an accumulation of buying orders
a. the market over the week end. The
stock continued active al its high price,
In anticipation of favorable dividend
action at the Forthcoming meeting, to be
held within a fortnight. The form the
expected increased return will take is
still a matter of conjecture.
Sugars on Point at Close.
Sugar shares came down q point or
more in the final hour and there was
some reaction in other stocks which
had had a rapid advance early
in the day. The favorable outlook
indicated by the activity in the build
ing industry was responsible for the
rise in the International Cement
TO