Evening star., 1926-04-18
STOCKS FLUCTUATE
IN NARROW RANGE
DuIIest Half Holiday Since
October a., 1924, Recorded
on Exchange.
BY the Associated Press.


NEW YORK, April 17.-Stock
prices continued to fiuctuate within a
narrow trading area in today's mar
ket, but the undertone was firm, and
both rails and Industrial averages
showed moderate gains on the day.
Fluctuations in the active issues re
flected mainly the usual weekend re-
adjustment of speculative accounts.
Total sales barely exceeded $50. 900
shares. making it the dullest half
holiday session since October 4, 1924.
Business uncertainties continued to
exert a restraining influence on con
structive market operations. Trading
was confined largely to the dealings
of professional traders, most of
whom were more concerned in
catching the turn" in individual!
stocks than in building up a perma-
nent market position.
Bullish News Appears.
! Several items. capable of bullish in
depreciation, made their appearance
in the days news These included
the weekly report of the Federal Re
serve Bank, showing another sharp
drop in brokers' loans for the week
ended April Z, bringing the total be
low $500, 100000 for the first time
this year; the statement that bank
clearingS this week were Az per cent
above the corresponding week last
year: the - lcation of the annual
report of the ran-American Petroleum
& Transport Co, showing earnings Of
$9.91 a share (par, $780, as compared
with S5.67 in 1924 the announcement
that the Canadian plant of the Gen
eral Motors Corporation would re-
sumo operations on Monday and that
the new Canadian tariff would not
particularly affect the parent COM
pany, and the report of the American
Petroleum Institute, showing an In
crease of 20 per cent in gasoline con-
sumption in the first two months Of
this year, as compared with the corre-
, spending period of 1925.
Offsetting these influences, how
| ever. was the establishment of an
other new low record by French
francs at 3.34 cents a further drop
in silver prices. bringing them to the
| lowest level in two years. and the re-
port of the Bureau of Labor Statistics
showing a drop of pa per cent in
| wholesale commodity prices last
month. one of the sharpest monthly
declines on record.
Motors Move Erratically.
Motors f1uctuated erratically in to-
days market, opening heavy rallyinG
sharply, losing part of their gains,
and then bounding upward again at
| the close. General Motors, Hudson,
Mack Truck, Stewart Warner. White
and Pierce Arrow pre4erred all closed
/ to nearly points higher.
Advances of about and points.
respectively, in Burns Brothers a and
3 on the publication of an unusually
favorable earnings report was one of
the few features. Substantial gains
also were recorded by Chicago Pneu-
matte Tool, Commercial Solvents A.
National Tea and Safety Gable.
| United States Steel common and most
| of the other standard industrials
| showed only small fractional changes.
! Rails were practically neglected.
| Texas and Pacific, the most active
| issue, advanced more than a point
with similar gains being recorded by
| Atchison, Atlantic Coast Line and
/ Delaware and Hudson on much
! smaller turnovers.
J. Commodity prices were mixed with
a sharp rally of PA to nearly cents
on the wheat futures as the feature.
| Cotton was practically unchanged.
! The raw sugar and coffee markets
| were firm.
Trading in the foreign exchanges
was quiet Demand sterling held
steady at s4.S5a4, and most of the
! European rates showed little change.
| The so-called silver currencies"
were heavy, but japanese yen ad-
vanced close to AZ cents. the highest
price in about three years. Peruvian
exchange touched a new low for the
year, but Argentine exchange was
/ strong.