Evening star., 1949-07-17
Billion Dollars Added
To Stock Prices in
4th Week Of Advances
BY William D. Horeon
Associated Press Financial Writer


A steel strike threatened a sloy
throttling of the Nations indus
trial life-the market advanced t,
q seven-week high.
Ina matter of hours before tn,
strike was scheduled to go int,
effect. a 60-day truce agreement
was reached-the market greetet
this information with calmnes
bordering on stupor.
On Monday President Truman
delivered his mid-year economic
report to the Congress. The re,
port. by and large. was encourag.
ing and optimistic from long.
range viewpoint. Bankers anc
businessmen liked the tone Of tn.
report, considered it conciliator,
to the business community. ane
felt that 1t represented a change
for the better in the Administra
tion's thinking on business prob.
lens and aims.
But 50 far as any response II
the stock market on Monday wa!
concerned. the report could jus
as well have been filed In tn,
waste basket.
Rally Keeps Rolling.
Despite this somewhat peculiar
reaction TO day-to-day develop.
ments. the markets summer rally
kept on rolling. When the Stool
Exchange closed trading for tn,
week the market was only q
trif1ing distance below q seven.
week peak.
For four consecutive week.
prices, on average. have ad.
vanced-a feat not matched since
last October. A few brokers. ant
most of them bashfully, began to
talk Of q bull market.
In the past week alone roughly
$1,000. 100000 was added to the
market value of all stocks LISTED
on the exchange. Since the rally
got under way around $4,000. 900. :
900 has been tackled on the mar
ket value.
On June 13. at the end Of O
month-long price slide, the mar
ket tumbled to 41a-year low
Two thirds of the distance Of that
slide has been regained.
Highly encouraging to Wall
Street, q traditional bullish COM
munity, was the larger volume of
trading. On two days, when the
market was moving UP, volume
topped the 100000 share mark
What was behind the market s
rise? Basically. the idea seemed
to be gaining ground. somewhat
ponderously but none the less per-
sistently, that business Is not 60
ing to the dogs with q bang.
During the month-long rise the
market has had to digest a pretty
rough diet Of business news. AT
the same time. more and more
favorable developments have been
recorded on the front pages and
the business pages. Not enough
10 indicate clearly = turn in the
road. but signposts pointing to q
turn in the not too distant future
Production Gaining.
This Is q sampling of what the
market may have its collective
eye on: Record automobile pro-
duction, strong demand for nom
ferrous metals at rising prices,
continued improvement In the
textile industry. A high rate of
construction activity and con-
gressional action TO encourage
building. Government plans to
spend more freely in areas hard
est hit by the showdown Of the
past half-year.
In the Newfoundland many
In Wall Street give this q triple
"A" rating as Q market factor
a. the very evident desire Of the
administration TO act vigorously
and promptly TO stimulate busi-
ness activity.
The recent change In Federal
Reserve and q. s. Treasury policy.
to make credit freely available to
business, was pointed to as an in
stance Of this action.
Price Changes.
Final prices, and changes for
the week, Of some leading stock;
o. 8. Steel up rs cents at sac as;
Bethlehem Steel up 81 cents at
$26.37; Republic Steel up $1.25 at
$1,000: Youngstown Sheet & Tube
up 1925 at $61.75; Jones g.
Laughlin up sl.50 at $24.00; Gen
eral Motors up 81 cents at $59.12;
Chrysler up IS cents at $4,000: u
g. Rubber up 81 cents at $4,000;
Montgomery Ward up $1.25 at
$52.12; international Harvester
up 81 cents at $25.87; Douglas
Aircraft up so cents at $60.50;
Schenley up so cents at $26.25;
American Telephone unchanged
1T $141.25: Canadian Pacific ur
$1o0 at $12.12; Columbia Gas ur
IL cents at $10.87; Common
wealth IL Southern up 81 cents
at $425; Anaconda Copper up 81
cents at $28.25; General Electric
up IS cents at $36.75: Du Pont
up $3.50 at $47.25: Allied Chemi-
cal up $500 at $173.00: Philip
Morris up $1.00 at $43.87; Radio
Corporation up Is cents at $10.37;
American Woolen OF 25 cents at
$26.87; Santa Fe up $1.62 at
$s4.s7: Southern Pacific up $1.25
at $36.s7; Nickel Plate up $500
at $6S.00; Standard Oil IN. j.
up $1.s7 at $66.50; United Air
Lines up rs cents at 1872;
Twentieth Century-Fox UP IL
cents at $2275; studebaker up
$50 at 320.12.