Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1932-12-05
STOCK LIST SAGS
ON REPEAL DEFEAT
Moderate Advances Lost
When News of Capital
Action Arrives.
BY GEORGE T. HUGHES.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK. December 5.-For one
day at least the stock market forgot
the war debts and interested itself only
in the vote in Washington on prohibit
ton repeal
Up to the time the result was an
nounced in the House stocks had
toiled YEARLY upward, but when the
news came that resubmission had lost
they scurried down again and left off
about where they were at Saturdays
close.
Volume was as low as ever all during
the recovery. and the pace quickened
only in the few minutes of selling that
followed the vote. Then the tape was
slightly behind business on the floor.
The alcohol stocks were bid up in the
morning and liquidated in the after
noon, with no one the loser except the
professional operator There was no
public participation on either side.
Sterling Receivers.
Sterling exchange rallied. but French
francs weakened, making new low for
the year, and coming down almost to
the point where it would be profitable
to ship gold from Paris to New York.
The recovery in sterling, which took
the quotation up to $3.202s in the after
noon, was said to be due to French
buying.
Whether because Of the improvement
in sterling exchange or poor crop pros
poets, wheat advanced, December gain
ing over a cent bushel Cotton was
little changed. Silver rallied vigorously,
up 10 to % points in midafternoon.
Other staples showed no important
change.
For the better tone in the market
during the early trading there was no
reason in the news. The relatively bet
ter showing made by the car loadings
statement Saturday may have helped
some, but in general the situation was
unchanged. The probabilities are that
the steadiness stocks have exhibited all
through the unSettlement in the ex-
change market stimulated short cover
ing today.
Gain More Than Point.
Gains of point or more were made
by the leaders during the first 2 hours
of business. Among the noticeably firm
spots were Sears oebuck, up over a
point, International Business Machines,
up over points, Allied Chemical; and
Pacific. Contracts for the decline were
retired in American Tobacco shares,
and the same was true OF American
Telephone g. Telegraph.
Nevertheless, the trading was slow on
the recovery and did not in itself indi-
cate any sustained advance. If there
had been any organized attempt to bid
up prices it would have been easy to
accomplish because of the sold-out con-
dition.
Sterling exchange opened at $3.175s,
of "a cents from Saturdays closing.
Most of this decline had been Cancelled
by noon. THE European gold currencies
were unchanged or lower. There are
observers who believe that the sterling
quotation has discounted the worst that
can happen on December IS No one
can speak dogmatically on that point
without more information about the
position of the continental Spectators
who have been dominating the market
for the British pound.
Wheat's Rally Helps.
A rally in wheat helped sentiment
toward stocks, but here also there was
not sufficient recovery to bring any as
surance. A furry in the alcohol stocks
preceded the debate in Congress on re-
peal of the eighteenth amendment.
Most of the buying in these shares,
however, was on the floor. There has
been no public following attracted as
yet
The market made further improve
ment in the afternoon under the lead
ership of the railway shares. The
AtchiSon road reported loadings for the
week ended December 3, of %, 729 cars,
against 22,005 in the preceding week.
This was a decline from a year ago
of 1915 per cent, whereas the last previ-
GUS comparison showed loss of 1871
per cent.
Tobacco stocks, were generally strong
and American Telephone & Telegraph
at 104 was about midway between the
high and the low of last weeks range.
Traders complained that the market
held within such narrow limits that
they were unable to make a profit
either way, and commission houses felt
the same about the lack OF business
The impressive thing was the stability
prices showed in the face of all the
existing uncertainty.
The regular dividends were declared
by McKeesport Tin Plate and by the
Lambert Co. on their respective stocks.
(copyright, 1922