Evening star., 1938-05-29
Trading Forces Moderately
Cheered as Tax Bill
Becomes Law.
PROFIT SELLING CUTS
GAINS IN MANY CASES
Business Provides Little Help and
New Slump in Major Staples
Hurts Market.
What Stocks Did.
BY FREDERICK GARNER,

Associated Press Financial Writer.
NEW YORK, May 28-The stock
market edged into mild rally today
with leaders getting back fractions to
a point or more of their recent losses.
Trading forces were said to have
been moderately cheered by the fact
that the tax revision bill became a
law at midnight, even though the
President refused to attach his sigma
ture to the document.
Offsetting this to some extent, how
ever, were indications the administra-
ton, not satisfied with the new law
as a whole. would throw the entire
tax matter into Congress at the next
session, with the possibility revision
might be made which would be dis
pleasing to financial quarters.
Business news provided scant stimu-
lation for speculative contingents and
another fall in major commodities
helped cloud such recovery tendencies
as appeared in the brief proceedings.
Turnover Is Small.
The list was up from the start on
a comparatively small turnover. There
was some profit selling near the close
and top gains were reduced in many
cases.
Transfers amounted to only 216,880
shares, against 286,070 Saturday
1t was the smallest volume for
a two-hour day since April 80. Inac-
tivity was attributed partly to small
attendance of brokers. many having
taken an early start on the extended
weekend holiday.
For the week the turnover was
about 100000 shares ahead of the
preceding six days. and it was not
overlooked that the pickup in ac-
tivity was coincident with a down.
ward trend
While the Associated Press average
Of 60 issues was up a of a point for
the short session, on the week this
composite suffered a net decline of
secutive week in which the average
fell.
U. S. Steel Advances.
Advances for the day we're held by
U. S. Steel at Al. Bethlehem, AIS;
General Motors. 272.: Chrysler, 40a4 !;
Anaconda, 22Ss; Kennecott, 1855;
Douglas Aircraft. 42ls; Interna-
tional Harvester. 495s; Montgomery
Ward. 1855: Standard Oil of N. j.,
45l2; American Telephone, 1885,:
Consolidated Edison, 22a.; Santa Fe,
25ls; Southern Pacific. 10@s: East
man Kodak. 147: Air Reduction, 49,;
Loew's, 387s. and American Can, 85.
The market registered a small ad-
vance on Monday when European
war talk quieted. For the next three
days the course was downward, with
Thursday showing the sharpest de-
clines. Short covering Friday en-
abled the average to finish unchanged
Only family encouraging notes
were sounded by members of the
American Iron & Steel Institute who
met here earlier in the week. and
steels lacked rising vigor the greater
part of the time. The competitive
agreement reached between American
and European steel makers was fin
ally ratified by the European Pro-
ducerS' Association and this was
viewed as slightly encouraging. Fore
casts Of a possible dip in next weeks
mill operations were also handi-
Gaping influence for these shares
Continued weakness of commodities,
brokers said, probably was the most
depressing element for stocks.
Rails Perform Better.
Rail shares from Monday on really
performed better than other depart
ments. Although the roads see faint
chances of Federal aid at this session
of Congress, they were still buoyed by
hopes of wage cut compromise and
the granger carriers were benefited
by prospects of the largest wheat crop
shipments in the past several years.
Coppers were handicapped by falling
export prices for this metal, but they
did better today following the latest
world figures disclosing an improved
statistical position. Slackening auto
motive sales impeded progress in this
department. Federal antitrust in
dictments returned at South Bend,
Ind, against the three most important
motor companies and their officials
failed to disturb this group partic-
ularly.
Among chilling developments of the
week were numerous slashes or omis-
sions of dividends.