Evening star., 1933-08-06
wild SPECULATION
r APPEARS AT END
Stock Market Closes Week in
| fearful Fashion Due to
! ~ Gas Bomb.
BY VICTOR EUBANK,
Associated Press Financial Writer

NEW YORK, August 5.-Wall Street
finished this weeks major security
business on a rather fearful note, al
though the weeping of the brokers was
not altogether attributable to sagging
stocks and the decline OF trading
volumes.
The Stock Exchange closed shortly
after noon on Friday, when two tear
gas bombs. placed in an air cooling
shaft, drove gasping members and their
assistants to the street. At the time
business was almost at standstill and
prices were slipping indifferently AS
Saturday had already been declared a
holiday. business was thus suspended
until Monday.
The wild and hySterical markets OF
recent weeks apparently were complete
1y tanned. Total stock sales for the
week were only 1865, 1898 shares, as
compared with 15,877,237 in the pre-
svious flve-day period or three-hour ses-
,sions. The Associated Press-Standad
Statistics average for 80 selected issues
was off one-half point at 80.5.
I Laid Partly to Curb.
The slowing down of trading was
ypaftfy credited to the announcement
sby Stock Exchange authorities Thurs
kday of drastic new rules intended to
icurb unbridled speculation. All margin
Requirements were lacked up substanti-
tally, restrictions were placed on GUS
itomerS' men, pools were ordered to sup
ply the officials with all information as
ito their operations and banking
aoanS to brokers were prohibited.
While there was some selling by
small traders Who could not put up the
additional margins, the effect of the
lnew regulations was largely psyche
illogical in that they imbued important
as well as unimportant spectators with
ycaution which apparently had been
Aforgotten in the previous wild weeks.
THE result was that the ticker tape
sidled throughout the week, with only
occasional aurries to relieve the monot-
sCny.
There was a brief upward rush of
fpriceS when a financial news service
tstory from Washington indicated that
Imitation was to be brought to the fore
lby the administration in the near fu-
Mure Reconsideration, however, in
tclined the Street to the belief that any
Ssuch action by Washington was not
imminent.
AS a contradictory infationary indi-
cation, the Governments new $500, ,000,-
1000 long-term bond Offering, the first
since 1881, was received enthusiastically
and OverSubScrlbed more than SIX times.
The American dollar, too, moved up in
foreign exchange transactions.
=. Trade Holds Up Well.
Although there was some seasonal
slackening in the feverish business and
industrial upswing, trade, as whole.
Eheld up surprisingly we'll and week end
reviews were highly optimistic regard
ang the continuance of the July vitality.
Grains had their ups and downs in
the restricted Chicago market. but fin
ished the week somewhat higher Cot
ton was also an irregular performer,
although the trend of this staple was
dover Other commodities were mixed,
with most prices finishing in a narrow
range.
Trading in bonds dropped along with
that in stocks, but the average for
senior securities was only fractionally
lower at the END of the week. High
grade issues generally maintained a
steady to firm position.