Evening star., 1936-01-01
STOCKS ADVANCE
STEADILY IN YEAR
1885 Hailed in Wall Street
as Most Encouraging
Period Since 1929.
BY FRANK MACMILLEN,
Associated Press Financial Writer.

q
NEW YORK, January 1.-The year
1885 in the New York Stock Exchange
is widely hailed in Wall Street as the
most encourag ng since 1929.
Gains were less spectacular than in
1888, tut from March to November,
the trend was almost steadily upw ard.
Not in years have share prices showed
such persistent gains.
Although there was some setback
after November, the year closes
with prices back close to their recov-
cry tops. -
The Associated Press average Of 60
stocks stands above the IS mark, after
having reached SCI November 10,
eight months and a day after the
years low was established at 34.8 on
March 18.
Continue Steady Rise. ..-
After a slump early In the year.
stocks refused to be turned from their
steady climb more than momentarily
by outside developments. including re-
curing political and financial crises.
Equally pronounced was the ability
Of share prices as a whole to with
stand shocks to individual groups, such
as those occasioned by the utility hold
ing company legislation and important
railroad failures.
Nevertheless, progress along the re-
covery trail was far from uniform. as
measured by gains from the lows of
the year to the final prices of 1895.
Even so. some of the groups under
special pressure, notably the power
and light holding concerns. swung back
swiftly from their bottoms when they
finally got under way.
Utilities Up Sharply. s
Prices Of 16 public utility holding
company issues advanced around 14O
per cent from their lows to the years
close. They were topped in their per-
centage improvement by four wooden
companies, the average Of which Just
failed TO triple the years low: BY 10
radio stocks, which almost doubled in
value from the bottom, and by seven
paper. companies, which Just nosed
them out for gain of a shade under
IL times.
Some Of the divisions which ranked
behind the holding companies. bit
still with an improvement Of 80 per
cent or more in value. and many Of
them more in the public eye than
those showing greater proportional
rises, included the copper and brass
group. theater and movie concerns.
leather companies. motors. aircraft
manufacturing stocks, mail order firms
and auto parts and accessories COM
panies.
Laggards Come to Life.
A number of the heavy industrials,
long laggard because Of stagnation IN
their fields, responded to better condi-
tions with improvement of 80 to 90
per cent or so in average value, to give
Wall Street statiSticians what many
Of them regarded as one of the most
hopeful recovery signals of 1895. =
Among them were building ano
building material, electrical equipment,
farm machinery and steel companies.
Even railroad stocks, regarded in Wall
Street as orphans of the depression.
came through with an average gain Of
nearly so per cent for SO companies
Far down at the other end of the list,
with improvement running to less than
10 per cent from the years worst, were
such groups as bituminous coal pro-
ducers, grocery chains, variety chains,
food products and sugar companies.
Despite this unevenness in the re-
covery front, the bulk of Wall Streets
banking and brokerage fraternity set
1885 down as unqualifiedly the mos.
encouraging market year of the re.
covery.