Evening star., 1924-07-29
AUTO SHARES ARE
BIT MORE ACTIVE
Many Other Stocks Score
New Highs-AtIantic Coast
Line Extra Strong.
BY STUART T.. WEST.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, July 29.-Despite the
uncertainty as to what the United
States Steel Corporation would do IN
regard to dividends at the meeting
scheduled for 3 o'clock this after
noon, buying operations continued in
many directions in the stock market
today. Numerous shares advanced to
new high prices, and the profit-taklns
which occurred did not seem to alter
the speculative current
American Can was the feature IN
the industrial section, rising 10
new high, while the rails, when were
more prominent than on the preced-
ing day, shared equally with corpo-
rate issues in the upturn. Atlantic
Coast Line had a particularly sharT
advance to fresh top, and there was
keen demand for Chesapeake ano
Ohio, Nickel Plate and the Missouri
Pacific stocks. Many other rails Were
bid up either to new high records OF
close to their best prices of the year
Auto Stocks More Active.
Automobile stocks were taken VI
for a time, the most noteworthy gains
being made in Pierce Arrow Chand, =,
Ter Motors also rose brlSklyr ano
there was further short covering
buying in Studebaker, du Pont and
the Maxwell Motors issues.
The movement in the motors was
entirely speculative, inspired by bet
ter trade reports and conducted on
the theory that this group had not
had it's part in the upswing.
1t was apparent that the oil shares
were discounting what the street
believes to be the bottom of the de-
preston in the industry. Recent
do oil rrir .3hnrda6
cuse on Monday for some selling of
the oils. but today this group as d
rule showed fractional gains FRO
ducers and Retiners. Marland. Phillips
Petroleum and Cosden all did better
much of the time today.
Coppers Favorably Affected.
The coppers, save for Cerro de
paSco, which was depressed for spe-
cial reasons were favorably affected
by the advance in copper metal "a
13A to 1872 cents pound. 1t was
reported that several producers re-
fused the lower bid and were holding
out for the 13 Il cent quotation. Ken
necott Copper sold at it's highest for
the year, Chile was strong and the
stocks of domestic producers attract
ed additional buying. The argument
that the Cerro de PaSco difficulties,
bringing a curtailment in that com
pany'S production, would have a good
effect on the domestic producers OF
W
this was a minor factor. The increase
in copper quotations was the thing of
Importance.
Pig Iron Price Raised.
The trade news of the day was
meager it included an increase in the
price of pig iron in certain districts
and a higher level for copper metal.
Retail trade was reported as more
satisfactory. There was nothing
fresh from the automobile industry,
but motor stocks were more proml-
nent in today's trading than in long
time. The feeling seemed to be that II
business reaction was passing the au-
tomobile manufacturers ought to be
in for better things. The financial
community was inclined to look to
the action of the directors of the
United States Steel Corporation IN
the matter of the dividend on the
common stock as voicing the opinion
of authority on the outlook, not only
for the steel trade, but for business
generally.
Pierce Arrow Doing Better.
Publication of the second quarter
income statement of the Pierce Ar
row Motor Car Company caused fur
ther buying in the preferred STOCK
The report showed that in the sec
ond three months Pierce Arrow
earned s1.06 d share on the preferred
after allowance had been made for
the prior preference dividend. In the
first quarter there was balance o1
A. cents a share on the preferred
The fact that total earnings after
charges and dividends on the prior
shares amounted to s1.53 share on
the preferred in the first six months
as against S2.04 in the first half OF
1928 was overlooked. The street was
chiefly concerned with the marked
Improvement in the second quarter.