The Wilmington morning star., 1940-02-21
SHARES
? u TRADED in RUSH
,.o.;ated Press Average Ot
"a Stocks Gains L Of
Point At 5o.4 Points
=, FREDERICK

. p1 YORK, Feb. 2o.-tR-Eager
Ne" snatched up 10000 shares
tayels in the last Is minutes OF
d, s' market session today and es-
'' lslished plus signs all over the
aOAsd where declines had pre-
' sspsly dominated a
'. gss freak rush of orders changed
inv rstvhile drowsiness of the
ts exchange floor into sudden
' ''asnoonium and the ticker tape
p'h turning out quotations well
s s., VI the final bell had sounded.
'S rse same type of fast buying in
Inv csicaeo board of trade showed
TO- .rioe of wheat up the limit of
ls cents a bushel near the end
!" , previously sleepy session.
nrices we're off at the open
and steadily grew worse as
1 Id progressed. Then. with an
c'a'''1 ~ 90, losses in metals were
l'4s nv a. thin stream Of buyers.
gn. stream widened. the metals
,.ss around a point above their
.ssvious close. Then steels Joined
Wv movement and the rush was on.
TAe Associated Press average OF
se,ected stocks gained i of a
s y at 5O.4-contrasted with its
s'onday reading Of SOL. Transac'
.iM's totaled So7.S6O shares COM
r r'r, with sss,41o yesterday.
Commentators called the quick
n, "var.inspired." They pointed
.nt hat the market had been hold
w. reasonably firm during the last
"s.t despite a decline in industrial
activity characterized particularly
Nv slipping steel production.
THESE depressing factors, they
,.id ordinarily would produce def
mite slumps i'll stock prices. But
The quotations held.
Today, however, evidently on in
dicstions of a further speed in the
ruropean theatres of war, the price
nj the significant metal, copper
VAS raised IA cent a pound. Buy
ers, suspecting foreign orders for
,ha metal companies, quickly start
~ huv;ne their securities-and the
late rush was on.
The boosts in wheat and corn at
Chicago were regarded as resulting
from exactly the same cause. Thus
far, purchases of those commodl'
ties in the United States by France
and Great Britain have been slim,
hut traders evidently believed q
better overseas market likely in the
near future.
Wheat closed tina day I IA to ]
IS cents a bushel higher than yes
terday, at one time booming the
permissible range of S cents. Corn
trailing its brother grain, ended W
IS to IS cent a bushel. Cotton
closed 5 cents a bale higher to flvt
cents lower - also 4 considerable
gain from earlier lows. Other com
mcdities were rather irregular
Somewhat depressed foreign bourse'
furnished no pattern for the lat'
activity in American markets.
Leaders in the upward surge O
shares were Anaconda, Kennecott
American Smelling. Phelps Dodge
U. S. Steel, Bethlehem. Genera
Motors, Chrysler, Bendtx, Allies
Chemical, Pennsylvania Railroad
New York Central and Western
Union. Joining these was q group
mainly ~specialties, which set new
highs for the year. 1t included
Brooklyn, Manhattan Transit. Can
ady Dry, Colgate, Twin Coach
Thompson Products and Pathe.
The curb, also active and q oi
higher, listed on the upside Alum,
nun Co. Of America, Gulf Oh
American Export Lines, Jones 4
Laughlin Steel, and Brewster Aero
Transactions totaled 1S1, 900 share
compared with 1e5, 900 yesterday.