Salt Lake Tribune | 1916-02-12 | Page 12 | Copper Shares Continue to Lead the Stock Market

COPPER SHARES CONTINUE TO LEAD THE STOCK MARKET Least Important Ones the Most Active; Movement Made to Test the Public Sentiment. By BROADAN WALL. By International News Service. NEW YORK, Feb. 11. Copper stocks continued leadership in the market today, to-day, but the less important ones were most -active. These new coppers and especially those brought, from Boston are being talked about so much that they promise to eclipse the old standard shares in that department of the exchange. Dividend Increases were rumored and each rumor seemed justified by actual figures that were everywhere available. It Is the understanding among the bankers that this movement among the coppers Is intended as a test of public sentiment. It is believed that if the coppers, with all their undJscounted values, val-ues, cannot attract a following, there is no need going- Into other Issues for leaders. This Is evident from the failure fail-ure of New York Central to respond to its report of earnings and by the failure of Erie to sell up to what ita earnings would ordinarily justify. War Stocks Popular. First-rate buying was seen In various departments, particularly In the war stocks and in Mexican Petroleum. The reason for buying: of Mexican Petroleum became evident after the close of the market, when official announcement was made that a new well had been opened up by that company which was yielding at the rate of 120,000 barrels daily, the oil shooting 500 feet into the air in a ten-inch ten-inch stream. If the new well lives up to its Initial performance, it will be the greatest in the hlstoi-y of the industry. The Mexi- can Petroleum company's Casino No. 7 j has long held the record as the world's J greatest well. This new well is in new territory and is far ahead of No. 7 in volume of output and in rock pressure. It now develops that Insiders were fairly certain the previous day that the well would be a big one. because 50.000 cubic feet of gas had escaped to early this morning, the well having been brought in about noon the previous day. News Came Late. As the announcement was not made i until after the close, the market did not j reflect the news materially. Attempts to buv the stock after the close found the asked price more than a point above the last official quotation. Strength of Russian, German and Austrian Aus-trian money was the feature of the exchange ex-change market. The Russian government is preparing to establish a credit in Lon- ; don and perhaps in New York, and bankers on friendly terms with the Ger- ; man government have been asked to re- i frain from selling German exchange too1 freely. Many German stocks are coming ; to market for liquidation. j Bankers identified with the sugar companies com-panies received reports from Washington Washing-ton today that the resolution suspending operation of the sugar clause of the tariff law will be passed next week. This means much for all sugar stocks, for they are already enjoying the greatest pros- perity ever known for the Industry. It , Is quite likely that material dividend in- creases will be made.