Evening star., 1937-12-26
ADVANCE SCORED
BY ARMS SHARES,
OTHERS NARROW
Steel and Aircraft Issues
Boosted by Talk of Arms
Expansion.
WALL STREET CHEERED
BY INVENTORY CUTS
Situation in Steel and Other
Heavy Industries Reported
Situation in Steel and Other
Heavy Industries Reported
Improving Steadily.
BY SMITH REAVIS,
Associated Press Financial Writer.

NEW YORK, Dec. 25.-Armament
shares stemmed conflicting stock
market currents for small gains this
week, but most of the list drifted.
Wall Streets belief rearmament
would be major administration pol
Icy brought forth buying in the steel
and aircraft issues, especially. Ad-
ditionally. trade reviews were more
hopeful that the bottom had been
reached in steel mill operations and
that an upturn was due.
AS is usual Christmas week. selling
and buying for tax return purposes
provided much Of the activity. Tran
sactions averaged better than 1,000,-
900 shares daily.
Bonds had an uneven week but in
clined little lower. United States
Treasury and Government guaranteed
issues f1urried higher but lost most of
their gains as institutions evened-up
portfolios for the year-end
Commodities Uneven.
Commodities, in their turn went
through period of mixed price
changes Cotton was bolstered by a
revival in demand from spinners and
foreign purchasing. Steel scrap prices
increased in line with better prognosti-
cations for the industry after New
Year Day. Grains and foodstuffs
pointed downward.
Cheering to Wall Street were in
dications that overstuffed inventories
in many lines had been dieted down
to more normal proportions. This was
true in some of the heavy industries,
including steel, it was said, and in
cotton textiles in wholesale and retail
hands. Department store stocks were
being worked off about in accord with
expectations of several weeks ago.
Dun g. Bradstreet reported a last
minute rush in Christmas buying had
lifted dollar retail sales above last
years figures. Distribution was bet
ter, reports said, in the moderately
priced groups, while luxuries failed
to do so we'll.
Steel Operations Down.
Steel operations declined for the
14th consecutive week. dropping SO
points to 235 per cent of capacity
and touching the lowest since the week
of October Is, 1884 Compared with
the preceding period, however, and
taking into consideration the Christ
mas holiday, the recession was about
seasonal.
Railroad freight carloadings fell off
slightly more than seasonally as re-
ported by the Association of American
Railroads. Electric power output had
a less than seasonal decline. No.
vember net operating income OF the
first IA carriers to disclose figures
showed 46 per cent decrease under
November, 1886.
Secretary Perkins statement that
factory employment had fallen off
more than seasonally in November
was noted in the financial community,
as was the study of the Bureau of
Agricultural Economics, which found
that recovery in the first half of
1888 would not be likely to be marked
by any startling upswing.
Congress adjourned without pass
ing any "aid-to- business" legislation,
but observers pointed out that the
farm, housing and taxation measures
in contemplation were in such shape
that action could be taken early in
the regular session.