SYDNEY SHARE MARKET

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 124, 28 May 1930, Page 14

SYDNEY SHARE MARKET

RETURNING CONFIDENCE

' The trend of investment prices on the Sydney Stock Exchange of late, remarks the "Sydney Morning Herald," has been more encouraging than for months past. After an almost unbroken series of reverses this year it looks as if most classes of shares are beginning to take a' turn for the better. ■ . . Three external influences have combined to bring about most of the improvement iv the. investment market—a sensitive barometer of the. country's prosperity, bountiful rains, sustained improvement in wool prices, and a more hopeful view of the industrial situation. Owners of industrial shares who have seen the market values of their holdings whittled down iv recent months to levels undreamt of during hist year's period of high prices are hopeful that the market has /'touched bottom." At all events buyers have operated with more confidence of kto than for a long time past. _ Furthermore, they have been advancing thenlimits steadily though 'cautiously for sound stocks, many of which are quoted at the advance. A significant feature is that the recent strongly-sustained advance in Commonwealth bonds has been broken by price irregularity of late. Prices of industrial stocks suffered severely for weeks, while investors transferred their funds to giltedged securities, for which they have shown a marked preference during the period of trade depression. Now it looks as if buyers, rendered more confident regarding the trade position, are giving better attention to sound industrial shares. Ono factor to which shave prices have reacted sympathetically, and which the market has taken as a hopeful sign, has been the maintenance o£ dividend distributions at their usual rate by several important companies. For months the mar-, ket has been depressed by the reduction or passing 'of dividends by many companies in order to "conserve resources' during the depression. Last month agood impression was made when the National Bank of Australasia announced its dividend at the usual rate. More recently similar announcements by the Colonial Sugar Kenning Company, the Australian Glass Manufacturers' Company, and Tooth and Co., have put heart into many investors.