New Britain herald., 1925-10-19
selling ATTACK
Meets Price RISE
Trading on Floor Reaches High
Volume

New York, Oct. 10 R-sensa-
tional fluctuations in the motor
shares, which opened TO s points
higher, broke 10 . points under
another avalanche OF selling orders
and then rallied hriskly around mid
day, again threw today's stock mar
ket into turmoil and caused wide
spread confusion In brokerage
houses throughout the financial dis
trict.
Total sales in the first two hours
exceeded 100000 shares, as COM
pared with 100000 in Saturdays
two hours session, with indications.
IL the furious pace of the morning
was maintained, that they would
cross 100000 shares before the
closing gong sounded at 3 o'clock.
General Motors was a. spectacular
feature. This stock, which closed
Saturday at 1888 after having at
tanned a new high record for all
time at 1877 earlier that day. opened
ut 1870 and then moved up to 1870 y.
Floor traders. noting the relatively
light buying support around the top
figures. launched another vicious
selling attack, which quickly carried
the stock down to 1211s AS on
Saturday sharp break had taken
place before customers and traders
who thronged the larger commission
houses were aware of what had
happened. Specialists In the stock
were 80 taken off their feet that they
declined to accept stop loss" or
limited orders making 1t necessary
for brokers who cared to handle
such transactions to appear at the
General Motors post on the floor and
execute the orders as the prices
were reached.
Little crcdence was placed in
banking circles 10 rumors that VIII
liam c. purant, or others, were buy.
ing control of General Motors in the
open market, With 100000 shares
of General Motors stock outstanding.
1t vas pointed out that it would
take almost unlimited means to
stage such a market coup, especial
ly when it Is considered that approx
imatcly 81 per cent Of the stock ont =
standing is controlled by the Du-
points.
There are 10000 stockholders OF
General Motors and so far as known
these have not been circulated or
approached to sell or give an option
on their holdings, which would be
virtually necessary in order to OBJ
tain a dominating interest in the
company. Brokers estimate that the
so-calIed floating supply OF the stock
In brokers' names totalled 100000
shares, or less than 10 per cent of
the amount outstanding.
Officials Of the General Motors
Corporation declined to make any
official comment on these rumors,
taking the position that they are en-
gagged in the manufacture OF motor
cars, and not concerned with the
stock market, Nor vas any comment
coming from j. F. Morgan e. Co..
tho principal bankers for General
Motors. 4
Stock market machinery again
proved incapable OF handling
promptly the tremendous volume of
business thrown on the floor OF the
exchange, The ticker was 20 min
utes or more behind the market.
making 1t almost impossible for Gus
toners in brokerage houses to know
with any degree of certainty the
price at which their orders would
be executed.
In the initial outburst of buying
Fisher Body was bid UP points
and Mack Truck, Chrysler and Du
Pont 2 20 points. In the suisse
quent wave of selling. Du Pont
broke from 2o2 IL to 1872, Fisher
Body from ll5 to 100 and L, s.
Cast Iron Pipe from 1877 L. to 1Sn.
S. S. kresge. which established 4
record high Of 500 last week, OPEN
ed today at 200, or 40 points below
the previous sale. Hudson, Stude-
baker. White Motors yellow Cab
and Dodge Bros. common cracked 4
TO 5 points below Saturdays final
figures,
Short selling assumed gigantic
proportions, the raridity of the de-
cline being due TO the cutting off Of
"stop losses orders placed by Gus
toners in an effort TO protect their
paper profits or 10 limit their losses.
1t soon became apparent that tho
short interests in some stocks was
being oVercrowdcd, at least temper
arily, and an active covering move
ment SGT in, which started the noon
rally The sustained strength OF the |
railroad shares acted as a support
inE influence