Evening star., 1926-12-09
'eOPPERS LEADERS
!. IN STOCK MARKET
Heavy Buying of Nash Motors
Chief Incident in That
L Il Group Today.
BY STUART p. WEST.
special Dispatch to The Star.

s. Special Dispatch to The Star.
; NEW YORK, December -
S Strength in the copper and smelling
shares was one of the interesting
> features in the Wall street trading
today. 1t illustrated the modern
tendency of the market not to be al
much interested as it used to be WIN
minor trade developments. Consld.
cradle attention had been attracted
by the reduction in bids for the cop
per metal early in the week to 1917
cents a pound This was the lowest
of the year, but the news brought
to selling into the copper shares. On
Che contrary, they began to harden
and today there was a deal of fresh
buying in some members of the
group.
American Smelling ran ahead
swiftly. Anaconda and kennecott
were higher. CRANKY Consolidated
was more active at advancing prices
and Greene Cananea had sharp
run-up This was an object lesson
af the change which has come over
the copper industry in recent years
in consequence of consultations ana
fower ocean freight rates. Costs
have been so reduced that copper
producers are able to make money
at prices which in the old times
would have been Improbable.
Heavy buying of Nash Motors was
the chief incident in the motors. 1t
vas based on reports, to which con-
siderable credence was attached, OF
n merger including Nash and one or
two other companies. This story has
been heard often before. The strength
in Dodge Brothers, class "A, was
noticeable.
The motor group was not at all at
rsfected by the break in Chandler MO-
tors preferred, due to the fear OF un-
favorable dividend action at FRIDAY
meeting.
: Continental Baking, class A, had a
further rapid comeback, following the
earnings statement published yester-
day, which pointed to a surplus sui
ficient to cover the $8 dividend, al
though little more. Eureka Vacuum
Cleaner made a new high record for
the year. 1t took very little buying
to bring about brisk advances in
some of the high-priced industrlals
like J. l. Case, Continental Insurance
and Commercial Solvents, class B.
Railway shares gave a better ac-
count of themselves than they have
in some time. The shares of roads
trayersing the Northwestern States
We're again in demand, especially Chi
cago and Northwestern and Great
Northern preferred. Three possibili-
ties were suggested to account for
the strength in these stocks. One
was. that the Northwestern roads
might be going to get better freight
rates in order to remove the inequall-
ties with rates in most other sec
tions of the country. Another was
that. the Great Northern dividend at
the coming meeting would be raised.
Another reason, which seemed quite
plausible, was that these stocks on
the basis of their investment yield,
had been a good deal behind the mar
ket and were now getting into line.
The buying of New York Central
Atchison and Southern Pacific was
impressive because these stocks had
been hanging fire for the last two or
three weeks. Few developments could
have appealed more strongly to spec-
ulative sentiment than the sudden
successful taking up Of these and
other dividend, paying stocks. Lehigh
Valley crossed the 100 level for the
first time this year. Non-dividend-
paying rails like Wabash. Kansas City
Southern, Missouri Pacific and the
Seaboard Air Line responded readily
TO the new buying movement as 1t
spread through the railway list.