Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1924-02-18
TRADING IN STOCKS
IS MUCH CONFUSED
Selling Side Favored Most as
Week 0pens-Some
Strong Spots.
BY STUART =. WEST.

Special Dispatch to The Star
NEW YORK, February 1S.-To-
days fluctuations repr esented con-
flicting views of the stock market
position following the violent break
OF last Friday and Saturdays par
tial recovery. The majority opinion
was, however. that the campaign for
higher prices had been definitely
checked and that on rallies plenty of
stocks would be found for sale.
Selling Side Favored.
Proceeding OH this theory. the
trading element was inclined to
favor the selling side. and this was
what showed in the price movement
of the day. Market letter writer's,
including some who had been very
bullish at the top prices of January,
swung around to the bear side.
Very few critics any longer empha :
sized the oil scandal. Stress was laid
upon the technical conditions. which
meant that after having had three
months and a half of advance the
market structure had become weak
cued and no longer responsive to
Favorable outside news. Nowhere was
there IA disposition to belittle the
Favorable outlook for business. 1t
was simply case of the market hay
counted the business situation.
Copper Prices Advanced
The price of the copper metal,
continuing it's advance. reached - Il
cents pound. This. however, failed
TO evoke. much response in the cop
per group. Partly this was due to
the unpropitious conditions in the
Gcnertal market and partly to the dis
appointing showing in the Porphyry
copper statements for the fourth
quarter of 1928. Increases were
shown over the same period of the
previous year. but there was. a heavy
falling off. as compared with the
third quarter. Utah earned $1.33 a
share. as against S2.4S in the three
months ended September 50. while
Nevada Consolidated's net income
was almost exactly cut i'll two.
Rubber Shares Weak.
Special weakness developed TN the
rubber and tire shares. bur for no
reasons which have not long been
known Dupont was sold on the decla
ration OF only the regular quarterly
per cent. although no more had been
expected at this time. Seaboard Air
Line preferred early in the day made
a new high above 20. Missouri pre-
fcrred held up better than most of the
rails following the statement that OK
traordinary maintenance expenditures
last year had amounted TO over IS Il
normal program this year will permit
If so desired, some payment on back
dividends.
The pool i'll Congoicum pushed it's
favorite to a new high, despite tho
hostile surroundings. The stock now
pays So. but it would have to dis
tribute at least So in order for the
present price to be justified. Among
the Specialties Dawson Chemical fell
away sharply and American Water
sold a
its last previous sale.
Wall street Features.
Associated Dry Goods common
opened up over a point, but later re-
acted. The buying was based prin
cipally upon knowledge of the ex-
ported for 1928. Gross income in 1923
was approximately $3.00o,000 above
that of the preceding twelve months,
while net Is believed to have been
about 100000 greater. Earnings Of
close to SIS per share on the COM
mon are expected to be disclosed. In
1922 the net was around SIG
Comparatively little attention was
paid to the satisfactory earnings
statement for 1928 published by the
showed net results of $10.5S a share
on the 10000 shares of no par stock.
as against s4.63 u share in 1922. The
more favorable earnings position had
Pure Oil below "a was no excep
ton to the general trend of the oil
shares. The recent talk about
favorable production and the pros
poets of high return on the COM
pany's investment in the Humphreys
Oil were forgotten. The proposed
sale OF three of Pure OILS subsidiaries
is expected to bring a considerable
amount into the parent company's
treasury.
Professional traders had this up
permost in their minds today. Bust
ness conditions had not changed, nor
We're they expected to change. The
political outlook was improved-that
is. the way Wall street views it--by
the resignation of the Secretary of
the Navy.
Stocks Lowest at Close.
Selling was extremely heavy in the
last hour, and it was then that the
low prices were made. Declines of
= to 3 points occurred among the
active leaders and nearly all of them
went below Fridays bottom figures.
The afternoon decline was SO gen.
eral and uniform that scarcely. any
group of stocks stood out more con-
spicuously than the rest. Baldwin
Locomotive sold below 12O for the
first time this year. Steel common
dropped beneath 103, where it was
we'll under the low figure of Friday.
SHARP BREAK AT CLOSE.