Evening star., 1927-04-11
PRICES IRREGULAR
ON STOCK MARKET
Seasoned Investment Shares
at New TopS-Some In
duStriaIS Lower.
BY GEORGE j. HUGHES.


Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK. April 11.-Price
changes in today's stock market were
Just as much mixed as on any day
last week. New high records for
seasoned investment shares were
matched by declines in those indus
trials which have shown themselves
sensitive to selling in the immediate
past. Perhaps the movement in
neither direction was quite as wide
but the line was drawn between the
weak and the strong quite as dis
tinctly.
General Motors and United States
Steel made their new high records
early in the day, a now familiar per-
formance. The explanation. in the
case of General Motors. if any were
needed. was the sales of cars to con-
sumers during March, which it was
announced today were larger than in
anv previous month, the former
record being held by May, 1926.
Spectators for the advance made the
most Of the point that the seasonal
retail demand was very early this
year.
Shares Follow Leaders.
AS to L. s. Steel, il was declared
that the falling off in untitled tonnage
shown in the statement given out
after the close on Saturday was not
as large as might have been expected
in view of the high rate of operations.
The other motor and steel shares
followed their respective leaders hest
tatingly with a few exceptions.
ChrysIer was the outstanding feature
among the independent automobile
stocks. 1t had an opening jump of
between two and three points, setting
a new high mark for 1927 with the
subsequent trading on q large scale.
Wall street reports were that pool
was operating in the stock. In the
steel group Crucible was the favorite
and here no other reason need be ad-
vance than the high current invest
ment return. On the her hand,
Colorado Fuel was the object of real
izing sales which carried the price
down sharply early in the session.
with, however, a later recovery.
Railroad shares were irregular most
of the day. The leaders on the up
side were Chesapeake & Ohio and
Baltimore &: Ohio, both at new tops.
profit on its holdings of Erie and
a substantial one on its Pere Mar
duette investment.
b. 6 o. Earnings High.
The market today was evidently re-
47ecting the enhancement Of treasury
assets. 1t has been repeatedly point
ed out that earnings per share of
Baltimore & Ohio are larger in pro-
portion to price than almost any
other of the dividend-paying rails
An increase in the dividend rate has
been predicted, but opinion in well
Informed quarters is that no imme-
date action along this line is prob
able. Kansas City Southern, which
had so spectacular a rise on Saturday,
started in today with another ad-
vance, which put it up beyond any
thing hitherto seen, but the gain was
rot entirely held. Missouri, Kansas,
iTexas took the leadership of tae
group, also setting a new high.
Packing stocks, particularly the
Armour issues, were weak again.
New low prices were made by Armour
of Delaware preferred as it dipped be-
low 80 and by the Armour "B"
shares, while Armour of Illinois pre-
ferred continued to sell around the
low of last week. Tobacco Products
was another speciality under pressure
and went to a new low as it sold un-
der "a. United Cigar was off 2 points
at one time. Heavy realizing sales
came into F'reeport Texas after its
prolonged rise and the stock showed a
loss at one time of between 4 and
points. Evidently a large specula-
tive following, attracted by the re-
markable showing the stock had been
making on the tape, had hastily con-
cluded that it was time to take
profits and they found buyers only at
concessions. Sponsors for the stock
insisted that higher dividends were in
store for shareholders of Freeport
Texas this year, although there was
nothing in the published financial
statement to confirm this view. AT
least setback would not be surpris.
ing in stock which had gone up
over 16 points in six trading days.