Evening star., 1924-04-25
FURTHER COVERING
REVEALED IN PRICES
Recoveries Noted Oh Exchange
Also Held to Reflect Caution
in Operations.
SHIPPING STOCKS AHEAD
Rail Issues Featured With c. & 0.
in Lineup.
nY STUART u. WEST.

Special Dispatch to The star.
NEW YORK, April 25.-Recovery
continued in the stock market today,
rejecting in part further covering
in of short contracts and in part the
cautious renewal for the first time
in a month of operations for the rise
United States Steel, across % again,
was getting ready for next Tuesdays
dividend meeting. All idea of any
larger extra than was voted at the
last quarter has long since been
abandoned But with Steel common
below par the street will be quite
satisfied with an additional so cents,
the same as was declared three
months ago This would mean Steel.
where it was today, selling on !
Der cent basis.
bethlehem Steel Holds Its Own.
The Bethlehem Steel report for the
March quarter had no particular et-
feet upon the common stock, when
merely held its place In the seler d n I !
price movement. Earnings or 49, ~
We're rather larger than usual, but on
the other hand orders on the books
fell off during the three months and
the present rate OF NM operations
was given as 90 per cent OF capacitS,
as against 1873. the average OF the
tirst quarter. Gulf States Steel had
Il sharp run-up. hut in other members
of the steel group the rise was mod
crate.
The feature among the rails was
Nickel Plate. which was bid up some
points following the publication OF
the pamphlet report for l923- rms
went far ahead of the preliminary
estimates in showing Sl5.1l earned
on the common shares after paying
dividends on the preferred. CheSa-
peake and Ohio was drawn along with
Nickel Plate. but enough of a gap
was opened up between the two TO
rather discourage gossip about an
exchange ot one for the other, so that
the Chesapeake dividend would be
automatically raised from to per
cent.
oil shares in I.imflight.
oil shares were favorably infiu-
creed hy the latest statistics showing
that supplies have been coming down
while demand was going up. The re-
bound was SharpeSt in l'aclnc cl!,
PhillipS Petroleum and Standard of
California. At one time Simms Pc
troleum was UP point
Shipping stocks continued to push
ahead unde@ the lead of lnterna-
tional Mercantile Marine preferred
sugars had their share in the rise.
although there WAS no further change
in the sugar market itself. Extra
ordinarily high estimates of current
United States Cast Iron Pipe. The
action OF American Can suggested
something more than mere short COW
cring. The stock having had IA %
Uoint drop from its high, opportunity
has been given to Teaccumulate hold
ings distributed on last winters ad-
vance, and the street expects to hear
more about extra dividends being re-
stored.
Upward Swing Analysed.
For today's upward swing on the
for any day this year-the explana-
tion was threefold. In the first
place it registered belief that the
business recession of the last month
had pretty we'll run its course and
had been overdiscounted in the stock
market decline. In the second place
1t reflected Il more confident feeling
over the political outlook as the re-
suit Of the recent state primaries. In
the third place it was inspired by
the evidence of piling up of money
supplies and the consequent eager
search for an outlet in investment
channels.
While improved feeling over the
outside outlook and realizatio of the
stronger position within the market
were the underlying causes at work,
discounted short sellers were buy
ing in their contracts impetuously
and they We're responsible for the
more extreme gains.
What happened in the stock mar
llet showed that the change which
has been observed gradually coming
over the situation for the last week
or more was a real change. 1t was
not simply a. transitory reversal due
to the retirement of an extended
short interest