Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-03
STOCKS co Higher
DESPITE SELLING
Price Movement irregular in
Some Groups. but Utilities
Score Gains.
BY GEORGE I. HUGHES.
Dispatch to The star.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, August 3.--Short sell
ing on a rather extensive scale in the
final hour today forced Stock Exchange
prices down from their best levels OF
the day without. however, bringing out
increased offerings. The close was at
levels slightly above those OF the pre-
ceding session. Trading continued
light.
Grains had sinking spell just previ-
Gus to the selling movement on the
Stock Exchange. Foreign exchanges
moved narrowly. Call money remained
| at 1h per cent throughout the day,
with supplies abundant.
Better retail demand for automobiles
and accessories enabled few In this
group, including General Motors, Null
Inns Manufacturing and Auburn Auto.
to retain most of their gains Allied
Chemical lost about half Of its early
gain on the late downturn and Amert-
can Can was down about point near
the end.
General Electric held its earlier adj
vance until a few minutes before the
finish, but westinghouse Electrical
yielded rather easily. United States
Steel made a small net gain. J, I. Case
broke to new low for the year. Inter-
national Nickel was up fractionally while
its directors were in session discussing
the quarterly common dividend, The
rate was lowered from is TO 10 cents
quarterly
with Steel common still lending at a
3-16 pGennium many feel that 1t har-
bora . zeal short interest, which Is not
due, as some observers recently sug-
gested, entirely to foreign selling.
Doubtless overseas sales Of steel pre-
ferred fortnight ago caused 1t to lend
at q premium, but 1t Is now lending
fiat.
Merchandising shares were COM
paratively active and higher In the
forenoon. The leader in the grocery
chains was Safeway Stores. Kroger
Grocery also gained in the same period,
while j. C. Penney came within point
of its 1881 high. rejecting the recent
improvement in profit margins Of that
company. r. H. Macy & Co. rose all
most points. Sears, Roebuck and
Montgomery ward moved upward to-
gether and demand was somewhat
heavier than usual for Woolworth.
Dairy stocks and food shares, however,
were rather listless.
While directors Of Standard on of
New Jersey were In session for dividend
action, most of the oil shares that sold
were higher. Socony- Vacuum, which Is
the name OF the Consolidated Standard
Oil of New York and Vacuum Oil. was
up - on its first few sales. Others to
advance included Houston Oil, Mexican
Seaboard, Texas Corporation, Shell
Union and Royal Dutch. Standard OIL
of New Jersey advanced at midday
when directors announced the declara-
ton Of the usual ascent common quar-
terly dividend and IS cents extra.
The railroad shares were dull and
irregular, with trading confined to
Atchison, Baltimore e. Ohio, Union Pa
citic. Chicago Rock Island, New York
Central and Great Northern preferred.
Radio was in demand In the first few
hours as a result Of the reception ac-
corded its new. low-priced radio set.
American Telephone again stubbornly
resisted selling efforts, and Interna-
tional Telephone pointed upward. Pub
lie Service, Corporation Of New Jersey
was up a point in the forenoon, and
Electric Power g. Light was up Ia
points. North American rose about .
point.