Salt Lake Tribune | 1917-03-18 | Page 41 | Shipping Shares Feature Brief but Broad Market

SHIPPING SNARES FEATURE BRIEF BUT BROAD MARKET United States Steel Again Is Leader of Industrials, Showing Fair Gains for the Day, NEW YORK. March 17. Shipping sha res were the prominent features fea-tures of today's brief but broad market, their rise being stimulated stimu-lated by the recent renewal of dividend payments on Mercantile Marine preferred, as well as on the theory that coastwise lines may benefit by any tie-up tie-up of the railroads. Combined dealings in Marine preferred and common shares, the former rising to 87 14. and the latter 2i. to comprised almost 30 per cent of the day's operations. Atlantic. Gulf & West Indies rose 3, to 110: United Fruit 2Va. to 144 Vfe. and Pari fir: Mail 1. to 24. United States Steel was again the leader lead-er of the industrials at an extreme gain of 1, to ll2;i. virtually all of which was retained. The further advance of 2. to 1234. in Bethlehem Steel new stock was explained by the publication of the company's statement for 1916.. showing a net income of $43,503,96S, as against $17.762,S15 in 1915. All the better known steel and iron stocks were firm to 6trong. with Industrial Alcohol, United States Rubber, General Electric, Wes tine-house. American Smelting Smelt-ing and oils. There were moderate reactions re-actions in some utilities, chiefly gas issues. is-sues. Rails Do Well. Rails gave a good account of themselves, them-selves, considering the acute uncertainty surrounding the labor controversy, but at best the movement in that quarter of the list was irregular. Sales amounted to 380,000 shares. Details of the French loan of $100,000.-00O $100,000.-00O were made public by the syndicate managers- and confirmed preliminary statements as to the interest rate, maturity ma-turity and general terms. Formal offering offer-ing of the notes will take place next week. The bank statement bore out forecasts of a laree actual cash gain and a substan- tial expansion of reserves, the latter item Increasing bv more than J21.000.0ihi. Trading in bonds was trivial, with few j changes of more than the smallest fitac- i tion. Total sales, par value, SI. 675,000. ; During the week government bonds , were unchanged on call, but coupon and registered 4s were 14 per cent higher on actual sales, the coupon 3s rising per cent. Review of Week. The week in the stock market ended with the differences between the railway managers and brotherhoods sttli unsettled, unset-tled, but with strong hopes, judging from the course of prices, of a temporary adjustment, ad-justment, if not a more lasting agreement. agree-ment. Foreign affairs Including the extraordinary extraor-dinary Russian ifftuation, played no very Important part In the later operations, which were characterized by unusual activity ac-tivity In shipping and various industrials, industri-als, the latter embracing some of the better bet-ter known equipments and munitions. v Definite terms of the new French loan were issued, the amount of $100,000,000, at 5 per cent and running for two years, bearing out recent statements. The notes will be offered next week at a figure fig-ure to vleld a full 6 per cent. It was intimated that success of the French loan would be speedily followed by another large British loan, the sum of J2o.000.000 having been mentioned in that connection. Domestic trade reports show no material materi-al cessation of activity in leading lines of trade and lndustrv. Bank clearings continue con-tinue to run well ahead of the corresponding corre-sponding period of 1916, and local money rates Inclined to greater ease, with supple sup-ple in excess of demand. Brokerage loans are as low. if not lower, low-er, than at anv period since last December's Decem-ber's setback in the market, but bankers discourage any recurrence of extravagant speculation.