The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-03-28
70 IlDUSTRIAIS
 TOUCH NEW LOW
Rallying Tendencies Are Shown At Opening, But
 Short Selling Renewed

NEW YORK. March e7.-sharp breaks in high2priced intnstriaI issues unsettled ltoday's quiet market after period of irreguiarity in which the tQ3ipg Influence predominated. At the c>,ees the average of 20 leading indus triaIs had established new 1924 low record.
 Rallying tendencies were in evidence nf the opening, more than a score of active Issues rising a. point or more in the first haR hour of trading on what. appeared to be active short cover ing. When this buying ceased and long operators showed no disposition z fo boost their favorites. short selling was renewed. particularly against 9aidwin. Chandler, and number of the chenicab copper and silk company
 Fairly good resista nee was offered to selling pressure until the late trading, when 9-point breaks in General Elec- tric and Corn Products and 6lspoint drop in Fisher Body caused rather ex-i fensive liquidation elsewhere, giving the market a decidedly, reactionary ap- p&4fance.. hS
 on and railroad shares, with few ex- e4ptions, developed strength. With
 
 ducticn and price tendencies. pointing upward, oil shares. particularly those Of companies with large inventories, are beginning to discount what is ex- pected to be profitable summers nuainess. Steadiness of rails is due l8rEfly to the unusually favorable charaeter of most. of. the February earnings statements now making their appearAnce, the first 30 roads to re- port showing combined net operating tncor1e of $35.o43. 900, compared with f21 s82h0o0 in the same month last year, an Increase of 64 per cent F < I Despite predictions that net earnings ofkthe United States Steel corporation for the first quarter, which will be made public late next month, will reach the gigantic total of $55.ooo, ,o00, United States Steel common fluctuated within radius. of l point. closing slightly high at 9S.5e. Fluctuations in American Cen were less violent after It's 12-point drop in the previous two days, the stock c{osfpg $ lower at 103h -.
 Except for the widespread belief that Corn Products had sufficiently dis counted the possibility of Corn Prod pefs. old stock being placed on $10 basis at Fridays meeting of the 1i- xH<&Qrss there were no explanations for tH4 sudden break in that issue. Liuuida- \ ton of General Electric also appeared xq be of a more pressing nature than tzAaiy seen m issues or that char aefer.
 Another flock of new lows were es- fhplished, including the American Agri- cmtural issuesf Mallinspn and Julius { NAieer silks, Ray, Miami and Cerro de EAsco coppers, Sears, Roebuck and Heyersl others. Among the rails heavi- ness was noted in Norfolk and Western and Chesapeake and Ohio.
 Eali money opened at AZ per cent, 1dyanced to and 51a and then dropped back to 5, where 1t closed The time money market was rather dull with tAe bulk of the business being trans- Aefed at A per cent. Prime commer- nlHl paper was unchanged at A per
 MeeerAte advances in French francs, Nnxeh advanced about points, to around 6.47, and In demand sterling, which was up %c, at $4.S0, featured the quiet foreign exchange market. Nnanish pesetas. were in good demand, climbing II points, to 13.17c
 Total stock sales, 646,oO0 shares,
 Twenty ipdustrials averaged 93.6o; uek loss, .1e.
 High, 1924. 1o1 "A; low, 93.6o.
 Twenty railroads averaged s4.16; net
 High, 1924. s5.so; low, s2.74.