Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-04-09
STOCK PRICES DROP
IN QUIET MARKET
Bear Traders Showing No
inclination to Take
in Contracts.
BY GEORGE T. HUGHES.
Special Dispatch to The Star.


NEW YORK, April 9.-Stocks drifted
lower in quiet trading again in todays
market. There was no outstanding
weakness, but simply sagging tendency,
with only here and there an exception,
and that generally in an unimportant
issue.
The belief in the Street is that the
short interest at present is of record
breaking proportions and therefore
Wednesdays moderate recovery was
hailed as sign of a long overdue
covering movement. Opening prices to-
day, however, showed only irregular
changes, with the bear faction in no
hurry to take In their commitments, and
by noon the list was receding once
more.
There was no news of Importance
calculated to influence the market.
Copper was quoted at 934 cents, against
the recent low of 912 cents, but demand
for the metal was still slow. Copper
stocks were uninfluenced by the better
tone in the commodity market. Traders
were paying more attention to the ac-
ton of the bond market than to any
trade advices and so far as domestic
securities were concerned bonds of the
second grade were in as much disfavor
as stocks.
Railroad shares recorded fresh losses
in the early trading Atchison went to
a new low for the year and 50 did st.
Louis-San Francisco and Southern Rail-
way. Both classes of Missouri PACING
sold at new lows, influenced by the
heavinesS in the bonds of that road
Rock Island was another weak carrier
issue. Rallies in this part of the list
were infrequent and unconvinc1ng.
Ind
States Steel held better than the aver
age. which was more a reflection of the
large short interest than Of any change
in the situation. Probably it would
take only a comparatively small DEM
onstration to dislodge the smaller shorts
In the stock, but it would not be so
easy to frighten the large operators
Bethlehem Steel fiuctuated more or less
with United States Steel. General
Motors was firm around the preceding
close and Consolidated Gas only frac-
tionally lower.
Decline in Auburn.
The always interesting Auburn Auto
distinguished itself by declining 10
points during the first two hours Ok
business, but the market paid no more
attention to the downward movement
in that cratic stock than it did to its
advances earlier in the week. Auburn's
earnings statement for the quarter
ending February % is expected this
week.
Among the minor incidents were a
run-up in Servel, that looked like the
result of pool activity, and heavy SELL
ing of Radio, that might have been real
LIQUIDATION. Beechnut Packing was
strong for time. but California Pack
ing, action on the dividend of which
was to be taken after the close, was
weak
After opening higher under an accu-
mutation of buying orders from both
short interests and new long positions,
the market was depressed with a new
burst of liquidation. This carried prices
below their previous close.
United States Steel was a shade
higher at the start. but soon dropped
below 1877 to a fractional decline. The
same course was followed by Vanadium,
Bethlehem and other steel stocks. Vol
ume was not heavy, trading in the first
half hour amounting to 100000 shares,
or the same as on wednesday. Call
money renewed unchanged at ia per
cent.
The weakest group was the carriers.
Atchison and Southern Railway both
made new lows, with losses of more
than 2 points. Union Pacific was off
nearly 2 points. Others to decline were
Baltimore & Ohio. Canadian Pacific.
Erie, New York Central, Rock Island
and Illinois Central Active industrials
to decline were Air Reduction, Byers
Pipe, Columbian Carbon, j. I. Case, Fox
Graphophone and Worthington Pump.
Store stocks were higher, among them
Woolworth. Sears-Roebuck and Mont
gomery Ward.