The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-01-18
STRENGTH FELT
 IN STEEL STOCK
Slowing, However, Is Counter acted By Big Break In
 Studebaker Issues

NEWPORT, Jan. 17.-Extensive re- adjustment of speculative accounts inn paired. an irregular trend to today's active stock market after an early period of moderate strength. Attempts of operators on the long side to take profits in some of the recent specu- lative Industrial favorites under cover of tho huoyancy of the steel shares led to sa series of attacks by professional shorts, giving the afternoon market a spotty appearance.
 Strength of United States Seel, com mon, which touched 101ss, the highest since last May, was counteracted by the weakness of Studebaker, which broke points. to 101A. Steel closed q point below the top, .while Stude- baker, which had been sold on un- favorable unofficial earnings reports for the dast quarter, rallied to 102 on President Ersktne's announcement that tho books had not been balanced and that the reported figures were purely ! seuess-work. Baldwin and Aperican Can, the other members of the so-called
 btg Four, closed at net losses of 1ss aud M at 122H, and 106H, respectively, after selling well above those figures. Payment of. the last back dividend on Republic Steel preferred, testifying to the improved earnings position of the Industry. was responsible for the brisk demand for the steel shares. Republic common jumped 3% points to 55, and then eased to 54, while Bethlehem, Cru cable, Gulf States Steel and Sloss-Shef- Held recorded substantial gains, only to forfeit most of them in the late wave of selling.
 United States Cast Iron Pipe made . quick response to the declaration of . full years dividend of 2 per cent on the preferred stock, jumping 2 points to 76 and then easing to 75A. Action of the directors of the G. R. Kinney com pany today in clearing up accumulated dividends of per cent on the preferred stock apparently had been discounted at e1.
 Pan-American oil shares had another sinking spell in reflection of the un- favorable Mexican news, the common dropping 2K and the "B' stock 1R other oil shares held relatively steady, the weekly report of the American Pe- troleum institute showing slight gain Tn crude production, which was more than offset, however, by the sharp drop in oil imports.
 A bullish demonstration in Davison Chemical sent that stock up more than z points, the closing price, CTS, being about half point from the top. sSpe- ctal strength also developed in West tnghouse Air Brake, General Electric, Fisher Body, and Columbia Carbon.
 Lehigh Valley was one of the strong spots of the railroad group, considera- ble discussion taking place as to the value of rights" under the completed segregation plan. Erie common dropped more than a point on profit taking southern Railway touched a record top at 4Sh. Other changes were mixed and narrow.
 Foreign exchanges developed a re- actionary trend after the brisk rally of the last few days. Demand sterling dropped more than a cent to $424as, and French francs were quoted around 4,64c, off points, despite the raising of the Bank of France rediscount rate to 6 per cent.
 Call money opened at Al. and dropped to 4. Time money and com mercial paper rates were unchanged. Total stock sales; 1,132, 400 shares.
 Twenty industrials averaged 96.42; net loss, 10.
 High, 1923, 1o5.os; low, s5.76.
 unchanged.
 High. 1923. 9o51; low, 1853.