Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-01-17
DECLINE in VALUE
OF STOCKS SHOWN
Shrinkage of $4,000, 600, 600
Below December Level In
Dictated on January l.
BY CHARLES F. sPEARE.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, January 1.-THE New
York Stock Exchange bulletin for jan
uary shows the value of all listed stocks
on the first day of the year to have
been approximately $4,000. 900, 900 below
the level of December /. This reflected
the rapid shrinkage in securities that
took place last month and had not been
changed in any great degree by the
rally which set in near the end of 1890.
The January figures also indicate q
drop of $4,000. 100000, or over 35 per
cent, from market values in April, when
the top of the 1880 rise was reached,
and of 1900, 100000 or about "a per
cent, in contrast with those of a year
ago. The current values are almost ex-
actly the same as weye Indicated for
January, 1928.
Reduction In Bond Values.
During December the reduction in the
market value of listed bonds was S575,-
100000. This market had a sharp re-
covery in the last week of the year,
which Offset some of the depreciation
that occurred when banks we're hqui-
dating on a large scale In order to
strengthen their cash positions. SFrom
the crest Of the bond market last Sep
TENDER to January there was a depre-
citation in listed issues of 81 300 .000, 900.
This was about equally divided between
domestic and foreign bonds.
The total value of ali listed bonds
on January / was almost the same as
that at the opening of 1929. What hap
pened last year was that bonds steadily
advanced for nine months and gained
81, 1000, 900 in that time. losing near
ly all of this appreciation in the follow
ing three months.
Change in Ratios.
The change between the ratios sef
Stock Exchange member loans to the
market value of all listed shares was
one of the significant features of 1880.
This ratio in the early part of 1926 was
nearly 10 per cent. AS recently as
January, 1929, it was more than eh
per cent. A year ago it was GIT per
cent, reaching its high for 1880 in May
at 6.72 per cent. From chat level it
dropped abruptly, and on the first Of
this month was at the remarkably low
ratio of 1886 per cent. Including the
decrease in brokers loans reported
Thursday, the reduction since last May
has been nearly so per cent. There
has probably not been time in the
past IS years when brokers we're bor-
rowing on such small relative scale
as at present.
Compared with last April, when the
market was.in the only pronounced bull
stage Of the year, the average price Of
all listed common stocks on January
shows a drop of 1857 from S6308.
Preferred stocks in the same period
have declined to an average price OF
S62.77 from $78.97. Some Of the most
striking changes by common stock
groups are the following: Automobile
stocks dropped from an average price
of 1929 to $22.57, chemical stocks from
SCI 10 to $56.25, electrical stocks from
1855 to $44.31, food stocks from $49.12
to $39.19, machinery and metal stocks
from $52.87 to $27.T2, amusement stocks
from $45.53 to S20.40, mining stocks
from $41.86 to $20.77, petroleum stocks
from $42.10 to $23.63, retail merchan-
dising stocks from S46.93 to $3005, and
iron and steel stocks from $103.71 to
sol SO.
Railroad Stocks.
Stocks representing the railroad In
dustry in the same period declined from
$10768 average to $63.10. Those re-
f1ecting the public utilities dropped
from $85.29 to S48.91. While the per-
centage of the average decline between
April and January l was about A per
cent in some groups, such as that tden-
tilted with the mining industry it was
more than so per cent. On the other
hand, the shrinkage in the average
price of food stocks was about 20 per
cent.
Copyright. 1879