Evening star., 1923-05-16
BEARS DRIVE STEEL
DOWN BELOW 81
Coppers Also Attacked &C.
fore New Buying Starts Raj.
/. Iy in Final Trading.
BY STUART p. WEST.

Special D;tlpatcii to The Star.
NEWYORk, May 1.-THE mark ct
was subjected to another sharp at
tack the early dealings today.
While the selling was at its height
steel common dropped to a new low
for the year, below o.. Bethlehem
Steel and Crucible Steel also made
new lows and active favorites like
Baldwin Locomotive and Studebaker
were driven down a point to a point
and half '--..
Copper shares were also taken in
hand by the bears, partly because
they had had less break than other
things and partly because of the re-
cent drop in the metal from 17l2 to
15la cents a pound.
pretty close to its low points of last
week. But around tIsrs level the same
sort of buying w Lsch had checked the
previous decl.he was encountered,
and as the afternoon began prices
We're back. In many instances over the
Mn1le sn1 Sfepd lost. in the first hour
Oil Shares Stronger.
The action of the oil shares at
had led the market down when the
hear campaign got under way in
April. Naturally, therefore, they
would be the first to reach sold
out condition. II seemed significant
that during the period of greatest
weakness today a number of these
Oil stocks We're up l Il to 3 points
with a considerably wider margin
still In stocks like Houston Oil and
California Petroleur>-from last
weeks bottom figures:
believers in the bull side accepted d
this as sign that the oil group was
one, at any rate. that had definitely
turned. and argued that it's example
would. be followed in other parts of
the list. until the whole market be-
came involved.
Rally in Afternoon.
The low prices wer. made before
midday. The market rallied IN the
afternoon. not win any degree of
Nieor. but still in a way to indicate
that professional traders were satis-
fed that their raidins was bringing
out no more real stock
baldwin Locomotive which had sold
as low as 12534 in the forenoon ran
back across 12S in the final hour. The
pressure was lifted from the steel
shares
Railway stocks. while doing little
held for the most part steady.
runners of Is per cent cash divi-
0end. making 20 per cent for the year
on Royal Dutch Company stock enia-
mated today from Amsterdam We're
not confirmed. However, these reports
have evidently influenced the market
for Royal Dutch shares on the New
York Stock Exchange the past few
days.
Marks Again Very Weak.
German marks drew very close
again to their lowest of all times,
French exchange was lower and the
recovery in sterling appeared to be
checked. This was an interesting
movement following as it did Tues
days extraordinary figures on the
import trade. with their record
breaking excess of s61.0oO.0oo over
exports.
Ten years ago a position like this
In the foreign trade would have
meant heavy shipments Of gold from
this country The reasons why sterl-
Ing exchange does not now rise to
the export point are quite we'll under
stood The whole difference lies in
the obligations on the American war
debt, the enormous decrease in in
terest payments due abroad Cn Amer
lean securities and the cutting down
of ocean freight Indebtedness owing
to the greater activity Of the Amer
lean merchant marine.