The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-02-05
!aDIL PRICE HIKES BECAUSE [: OF BUYING
Low Priced Rails Take Leader ship In Upward Movement
 As Market Opens

< SNEw YORK, Feb. 4.-Stocls prices ,~moyed upward with renewed vigor in today's active session, despite intermit- tent profit taking and occasional bear attacks against such issues as Davison Chemical and American Can. which closed at net losses of 3A and 214 points, respectively. Buying was stim- ulated by new increases in crude oil and raw sugar prices, reappearance of per cent call money and the optimis- tic utterances on the steel outlook by Sir Robert Horne, former chancellor of the British excheQuer, who is on his way home after an extended visit to this country.
 Low priced rails assumed the leader ship for the upward movement soon aft CT the market opened. Wabash pre- < ferred A was the outstanding feature, < touching new high for all time at @2ss, but closing slightly below that fig ure for a net gain of nearly point on the day. Erie common touched 2sB, the highest price since 1917. Southern railway established another record at <sss, but dropped below AS on late prof 1t taking. Missouri Pacific preferred moved up 1h points to 35. St. Louis Southwestern common, the strong spot Saturday, dropped nearly a point on realizing.
 When the, rails showed signs of fal- tering in the late wave of profit taking new leaders were brought forward. A bullish demonstration in the oils car ried Houston up, 51z points to S0% Standard Oil of California closed near ly points higher at 67h and the Pan { American issues, Cosden, Phillips Pe- troleum, Pacific Oil, Marland and Shell Transport, all closed a point or more higher.
 A sudden outburst of strength in Baldwin just before the close sent shorts scurrying to cover and carried the stock up nearly points to 1291s, the closing quotations being slightly below that figure. U. S. Steel common 2 touched 10s, the highest price since last April, and then sagged to 1o7ss, up B, on the day. Studebaker closed more than a point higher at 105.
 , Most of the sugars touched new highs on the current upward movement in eX- pectation of materially increased earn climbed nearly points to 6S%, Punta Alegre closed 2A higher at 62h and American Sugar Refining, Cuban American and Cuban Dominican each gained point or so. Cuban raw sugar is now selling about 2 cents a pound above the prices prevailing a year ago. ( There were several other strong spots scattered throughout the industrial list, including American Express, Computing Tabulatipg and Recording, Kelsey Wheel, National Lead, Tobacco Prod ucts and Liggett and Myers, up 2 to 6 points.
 High grade rails were not neglected Atlantic Coast Line rising points and Pennsylvania, Northern Pacific and Louisville and Nashville a point or so.
 Call money opened at A. and then eased to 4, where it closed. The bulk of the time money business was done at AZ, although a few loans were re- ported at Az for the shorter maturities. Commercial paper trading was quiet, the ruling being A points.
 Foreign exchange trading was quiet with the absence of a demand causing reactionary trend. Demand sterling dropped more than 3 cents to around $4.30h and French francs were off about 5 points at 467c.
 Total stock sales, 1,298, 500 shares.
 Twenty industrials averaged 1OO.92; net gain .2s.
 High: 1924, 10o.92; low, 94.ss.
 Twenty railroads averaged S5.49; net Sain, .S7.
 High: 1924, s5.sO; low, s2.74.