Show i I I I I IN ALL STREET Prices Creep Slight Lower Unusually I Light Sales By CLAUDE JAGGER A. A Associated Presa Financial NEW YORK YORI Dec 26 25 AP AP stock market wu anticlimactic and dreary affair to day Prices crept lower under m un usually light offerings Th The Thein in pivotal shares wore mostly but a few Issues broke brake into new k r ground The Tho market was Indeed an art extreme contrast to the vigorous advance which followed the tho Christ was holiday a year ago Several of tho merchandising in- in sues vero sold presumably on th theory that earnings froni holiday hollday trade trado would bo ho bc can so of reduced profit margins Macy declined more than 5 points j and Sears Roebuck 2 to new low levels Woolworth Best Co ani ant Associated Dry Goods cased mod dropped about 2 t 3 t to a now minimum under 19 and Southern Pacific Coca Cola andi Western Union declined a as much United States Steel American Telephone American Can Liggett Myers B 13 New York Central North American and Paramount sagged a point or moro more The list firmed for br a time in tho morning J Eastman making a temporary gala gain i of 5 points 3 A declining stock market in the thelast last week of the tho year has been rare In stock history Selling to establish losses for income tax purposes pur poses has usually been completed by that time and traders have been Inclined to accumulate stocks in Iri expectation of a January reinvest ment demand Furthermore holdIng holdIng hold hold- Ing and investment companies have favored a firm market at the close of the year to give a largo large market value to their holdings as reported In their December 31 statements Today's stock market appeared t to suffer from froni neglect as much ac ag anything There wa was little in the business now news to encourage speculation lation for the tho rise and many traders who left town for the holiday planned to stay away until next Monday Tho opinion was vas ex expressed expressed pressed in brokerage circles that thero still was a little belated ta soiling in progress and the feeble tone tono of the tho list encouraged bear selling Anaconda was an active and firm feature of the the- early trading D D. of tho regular was as encouraging as was the states state which accompanied the announcement an an- showing that company as a unit was wag on one of the lowest cost producers In the indus Indus- try Cost per pound after alt all charges was placed at cents Business reports reflected little but tha year end quiet normally apparent at this time It was wag pointed out however that the tho yearend year yearend end letdown started from an abnormally ab- ab normally low level producing such widespread slackness that such indicators as to the new years year's activity ac- ac as are aro often apparent at time were lacking Credit rates were in the tho main stationary and call money advanced to 2 24 per cent after at 2 i iper per cent reflecting the tho year erid and banking demand for funds |