Evening star., 1923-02-27
STOCK MOVEMENTS
/ IN NARROW RANGE.
Traders Display Waiting At.
titude as to immediate
Trend of Market.
By STUART p. WEST.

By STUART p. WEST.
Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, February 2T.-Interest
IN todays stock market again CEN
tered in special price movements
Most of these were upward. but the
general list was quite unresponsive
and during the greater part of the
time merely shifted back and forth
within very narrow range and with
no settled tendency one way or the
other.
Analysis Of the liquidating value
OF United Retail Stores indicating,
that IT was very considerably above
led to a sharp advance. Shares of
Topacco Products representing the
controlling interest in Retail stores
were drawn along.
Utah Strongest Copper.
The only copper stock to do much
on the advance in the copper metal
was Utah. The zinc stocks, how
ever, woke up more than they had
previously done, TO the fact that zinc
prices are the highest since the au-
runn of 1920, and that the outlook for
AL these companies Is the best that
il has been since the war time. Butte
ana Superior Was the leader of the
group. with American Zine and Cal
lahan following.
Iron Products bettered its high for
Doth this year and last when 1t cross
ed 53ls. The statement made Mon
day that earnings are now running
at the rate of SIT a share was the
principal Incentive for the buying.
II WAS q blow to enthusiasts on the
railroad shares that these should
nave taken so little notice of the first
"1 the January traffic statements.
Fine II. & D Earnings.
The Baltimore and Ohio report was
extraordinary, showing all increase
"f more than 100 per cent over Jam
uary, 1922. In 1916 when Baltimore
and Ohio earned 7.1S per cent and
l,a,d . per cent ON its common stock,
the January net was only s1,751,7 ,764,
s3.so9,4 49, -
The real feature OF interest in the
markets To-Day was another series Of
Price advances in commodities
Cotton drew we'll across the thirtv-
cent level for the first time, more
upward readjustments were announc-
sd In OIL quotations, the copper metal
became definitely established on a
16@s basis and from the steel centers
came word OF fresh advances in price
schedules.
Decline in Sugar Market.
The sugar market furnished the
only exception OF the day. The de-
cline in both raw and refined,
amounting to full cent in the pound
from the extreme high. doubtless
meant that speculation had set a too
rapid pace the way 1t was going a
week ago. But it did not necessarily
indicate that the sugar trade was
wrong in its calculations regarding
this years world supply and demand.
The latest testimony. regardless of
what Is said by those interested in
keeping raw sugar down, all goes to
support the view that while there
may not be All actual shortage, there
will be a ready demand at good prices
for all the surplus sugar that can be
turned out.
peared on the stock exchange to
these evidences of an increasingly
more profitable price level, but there
was nothing like there was in the
market up to the end of last week.
Only one or two OF the copper stocks
did any thing to speak of. The zinc
shares stood out strongly, but in the
oils and Steels there We're very few
advances worth noting.
Reasons for Weakness.
This may have meant that Wall
street had temporarily about dis
counted" favorable trade news, or II
may have meant that it was still
feeling the damper cast upon specu-
1ative sentiment by last Wednesdays 8
action of the federal reserve banks
But, in all events, the subsistence of
outside interests in the market and
the return to the narrow professional
speculation Of the first half of Jam
'uary were very we'll defined.
While the industrial shares were
displaying 4 diminishing interest in
the trade news, the railway shares
we're taking still less heed of the
Hrst of the January traffic statements.
If the reports by Baltimore and Ohio,
New York Central and Southern Pa
cific are q fair index of what the rest
will show January will prove to have
been better month than December
and altogether the most prosperous
mid winter period for the carriers In
recent years.
Coca-CoIa Advances
Coca-Cola stock responded with an
overnight advance of over point TO
the declaration of an extra dividend
of SO cents a share in addition to the
regular quarterly payment OF S1.60.
The feeling In the street today was
that Coca-Cola should hold on to Its
has always been a. fact that the com
pany has been hard put to 1t to show
large profits with sugar above 5
cents, and now that sugar Is selling
above 8 cents profits are likely to
dwindle.
There was belief in some quarters
that q sleeping short interest in Coco
Cola would be put to rout by the
declaration of an extra dividend, but
there did not appear to be much of
scramble to cover today.
The fourth quarter report of the Phil
lips Petroleum Company. issued today,
showed income after all charges eX-
cept depreciation and depletion Of ap-
proximately $3.50 per share, or at the
annual rate of s14. Actually the
figure for the year was about $l2.70,
according to calculations in the street.
Phillips earnings at present are said
to be substantially above that amount
Copper Active at Close.
The copper shares. which had paid
little attention early in the day to
the rise in the copper metal, came to
the front in the afternoon when IL
was announced that Anaconda Cop
per had been restored to the dividend
list at the rate of SO year. This
action was by no means unexpected
A brief squirt occurred in some OF
the motors in the early afternoon
Studebaker got back to 120 and
Chandler above 73. Bosch Magnetic
rose sharply on dividend talk. Zinc
stocks continued prominent. espe-
cially American Zinc preferred> and
Butte and Superior. COca-Cola was
inactive In late trading.