Evening star., 1932-11-30
|STOCK PR|CESUP
SLIGHTLY At CLOSE
UnfavorabIe Domestic News
Blamed Mainly for
Weakness.
BY GEORGE T. HUGHEx,

special Dispatch 70 The Star.
NEW YORK. November 3o.-stocks
reassumed the place OF prominence ia
todays financial operations. Sterling
exchange rallied sharply. up between 4
and points from yesterdays close, but
this reversal was accompanied by A
pronounced reaction In the share list
under increased activity.
Weakness in stocks seemed Ia he das
as much to discouraging reports from
domestic sources as to the complica-
tions over the war debts. Losses ran
from l and points up to more thar,
points In International Business Ma
cmnes. Toward the close there was a
sAent rally, but 1t was unimpressive.
Commodities Stronger.
The recovery in sterling helped some
conmodlties, but not all OF them.
Wneat advanced, then lost most OF the
gain before the end; silver futures were
up % to 40 points and rubber was mod
erately higher. Cotton reacted and
sugar lost ground again. Taking The
staples as a whole, interest In them was
not as wide as earlier In the week
Before business was resumed on th,.
side sterling exchange In London had
advanced from yesterdays close of
S3I5 to s3.162, then to 3.1sb and
later to 1921, up 5 points. The Omen
ing In New York was at S32Oh I'm
4% points, but here all Of the gain
was not retained, quotations dropnin9
back to around s319% by midday.
The reasons for this abrupt recovery
in sterling could not be stated conf
IDENTIFY. What apparently happened was
the covering in Of commitments by bear
spectators In continental centers who
had overplayed their hand and who
were disturbed by reports of gold ship
menus from London to New York. That
is normal development In a nnarket
that has had such a sweeping decline
and 1t does not necessarily indicate anv
permanent turn.
Reply Is Awaited.
Interest continued intense In the
character OF the second British note to
the United States Government. It was
believed that the British government
would pay the December Is instaiiment
OF interest, If not of principal, II forced
to do so but 1t was not so sure that the
gold shipments announced yesterday
were for that purpose The market for
exchange was thin and nervous.
Just as stocks had ignored the weak
ness in sterling yesterday, they moved
contrary to the exchanges today, turn
ing decidedly downward. The opening
was moderately higher but after 10
minutes Of business stocks were In
supply and losses were chalked up all
along the line. Particular pressure as
directed against U. s. Steel preferred,
American Telephone and Safeway
Stores. More or less. however. the list
moved together. The utilities made
slightly better resistance than the in
dustrials but that was all.
Weakness in steel preferred, as well
as the drop in the common to a new
low on this reaction, could be traced to
the discouraging tenor of the Iron
Ages weekly report. That authority
made steel ingot output at II per cent
OF capacity against 16 per cent last
week but added that incoming orders
were not sufficient to maintain this
rate in December and that the indica-
tions were that even in January there
would be no more than mild upturn.
Another somewhat disturbing infiu-
erlce was the rift that appeared in the
copper conference, with the demand by
Roam Antelope for an increase in its
production quota. Electric power pro-
duction for the week was of rs per
cent against rs per cent a week ago.
Standard Oh. of New York cut gasoline
prices in its territory but that was of
less Importance, for the oil industry 10
making valiant and reasonably sue
cessful effort to bring production into
balance with consumption.
Besides Safeway Stores, which was
OF over 3 points, the other merchandise
ing stocks were heavy, including Wool
tional Business Machines. which was
weak yesterday on omission of the
stock dividend, dropped nearly points.
A little more selling came into Ameri-
can Tobacco shares and they receded.
Air Reduction, Allied Chemical, Ameri-
can Can, ]. I. Case, and. among the
rails, Union Pacific and Atchison, were
all OF point or more before midday.
Selling Sweeps List
A wave of selling swept over the list
in the early afternoon and carried
prices down to the low of the session.
Railway shares we're adversely affected
by the announcement that no action
had been taken on the dividend at the
meeting of the Burlington Board today.
although 1t was added that the matter
would be taken up later IN the year.
Sterling exchange yielded a little but
was still more than 3k points up on
the day.
WHhe Tic pressure was AT ltS nelSnt,
Atchison showed 3-point loss on the
DAY, Union Pacific between and
points and the low-priced Great North
ern preferred and Northern Pacific,
joint owners Of the Burlington, drop
ped back a point and more. Activity
increased on the reaction.
South Porto Rico Sugar declared the
regular dividend on the common stock,
as did LOrillard Tobacco International
Silver ordered the regular payment On
the preferred The @. w. Helme Co.
declared the regular $1.25 on the COM
mon and an extra of So, the same ac-
tion as had been taken at the Novem-
ber meeting in the foiIr Drecedino wears