Evening star., 1923-01-27
WEEK SEES RAIL
SHARES co HIGHER
BY the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
NEW YORK, January 27.-Stock
prices, particularly railroad issues.
moved to higher ground in this
weeks market, but bond prices con-
tinued reactionary under the depress-
ing influence OF renewed weakness In
the French and Belgian liens and the
competition of large volume of new
offerings. Movements in the stock
market indicated that domestic con-
ditions are the dominant factor In the
determination of quoted values. but
the European situation is causing a
curtailment of business and an alb
sence of public participation, making
1t essentially a traders market"
The sudden burst of activity in
railroad shares was inspired by the
excellent showing made by the roads
in their December earnings state
ments, the first of which have just
been published; and the continuance
of record volume of car loadings,
which totaied S73,251 cars for the
week ending January 13. This total
exceeded that Of every other high
and was only exceeded once by
week in March. that of March 25,
1920.
Southern Railway Active.
Southern Railway was one of the
most active issues touching 30A, as
against the years low Of 24Ai buying
being based on reports or large cur
rent earnings. Other low-priced
speculative rails also made substan-
.x,hi high
priced investment issues moved with
in more narrow limits During the
week the average of twenty active
railroad shares reached the highest
price since the middle of last No
Vember.
One of the most spectacular move
ments of the week was in Fisher
Body stock, which broke from 203
to 1862 on announcement of pro-
spective s20,000.000 6 per cent deben-
ture bond Offering and an issue of
100000 additional shares Of common
stock at SIS a share. The stock
rallied to 172 the same day and ad-
vanced later in the week to 1856 on
announcement of the offer Of w. c.
Durant, automobile manufacturer.
who has been selling the old stock
on a partial payment plan, to pur-
chase the entire outstanding stock at
$200 a share.
= Another interesting movement took
place during the week in the new
stock Of the Consolidated Gas Com
pany, which advanced from 62k to
6S15 on Thursday on announcement
that the stock had been placed on a
IS annual dividend basis. Other
public utilities improved in sympathy.
Bear Attacks Fail.
Short interests made few in
effectual attempts to. unsettle the
market, using the unfavorabfe foreign
news as an excuse, and while they
succeeded in forcing recessions in a
number of active shares, they were
unable to break them through their
previous low levels. This was in
terpreted by some market observers
as an indication of the strength Of
the markets technical position, while
others merely regarded 1t as disclos-
ing a "watchful waiting attitude on
the part of large traders. Reports
that brokers' loans were now around
81, 500. 100000 were construed as show
ing that pools were still well loaded
up with stocks.
= Rubber shares enjoyed a period of
strength on another increase in the
price of crude rubber, bringing it to
81 cents a pound. Failure of the
Standard Oil Company Of California
to increase it's dividend rate and the
oyerproduction of California crude
oil caused some selling Of the oil
shares in the middle of the week, but
they recovered somewhat In later
|sd07llnK1.