The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-02-27
NOT ALL NEWS
 IS UNAVOIDABLE
Sl0ss-Sheffield Steel Resumes Dividends On Six Per Cent
 Annual Basis

NEW YORK, Feb. 26.-Unexpected passing of the Anaconda Copper diri- dend today brought a flood of selling orders in the copper shares, weakness of which eventually communicated it. self to the general list. Copper issues broke 1 to 4 points, several of them to their lowest prices of the year, while @ number of other active industrial stocks closed one to two points below yester- days final figures.
 Anaconda, approximately 00,000 shares of which changed hands during the day, dropped to 33h as compared slightly above its low price for net loss of 3% points. American Smelling dropped points to 59A; Inspiration, K to 22b; Magma, 1ss to 31; Cerro De Pasco, to 45A; Utah, 1 to 641a; Chile, 1h to 26S, and Chino, B to 171s, clos ing prices in most cases being slightly above the days lows.
 Omission of the Anaconda dividend was attributed to the inability of North American producers to operate at satisfactory profit with copper metal selling around 13 cents a pound. It was pointed out that while copper con- sumption has been unusually heavy, the price has been kept down by the heavy imports of the red metal from Africa and South America, where pro- QuctlOu costs are low.
 Not all of today's dividend news was unfavorable, however. Directors of the Sloss-Sheffield Steel company resumed dividends on a 6 per cent annual basis after having suspended payments since the spring of 1921, and the stock imme- diately climbed 2z points to 651s. The stock market reaction to the increase in tho annual dividend rate on-fnter- national Business Machines, formerly Computtng-Tabulatin from . S6 to an $S basis was just the oppo- site, the stock dropping from STA to BIZ, and then rallying to 925s, a net loss of 2A on the day.
 Professional operators on the short side took advantage of the break in Anaconda to increase their offerings in other parts of the list, some of the late selling also being influenced by intima- tions of further sensational develop cents at the Washington oil inquiry. Opening prices had been fairly steady.
 Among the so-called pivotal stocks, United States Steel common closed slightly lower at 104. Baldwin dropped a half to 121k, Studebaker advanced B to 100ss, and American Can dropped 1A to 111ss.
 Coca Cola broke more than 8 points to 6Sss, new, 1924 low, but it rallied later to TOE. Dupont broke points to 127 and then rallied slightly. Heaviness also cropped out in the leather shares,
 
 Fruit, American Snuff, Railway Steel Spring and a few others.
 Strength of Norfolk and Western, based on speculative expectation of an extra payment this spring, was the fea- ture of the railroad group, the stock touching a new high at 110k and then dropping to 109A, up 1ss. Erie issues were in supply, the com mon and the first preferred dropping l and IF points, respectively.
 Call money held at A per cent all day. The time money and commercial paper markets were quiet, with the bulk of the business being done at AZ per cent.
 Business in the foreign exchange market was on moderate scale, with rates irregular. Demand sterling dropped nearly half a cent to 4.29%, but French francs held fairly steady around 4.27 cents. Passing of the grain export season sent Canadian dollars down hc to 96% cents. 1 Total stoSk saiess S26 500 shares
 Twenty Tindustrials averaged 97.o4: net loss, .65.
 High, 1924, 101.24; low, 94.ss. Twenty railroads averaged S356; net loss. .19. High. 1924. s5.so; low, s2.74.