WALL STREET SENSATION

Evening Star, Issue 20316, 26 October 1929, Page 15

WALL STREET SENSATION

THE STOCK MARKET CRASH RESULT OF INFLATED VALUES deflation inevitable. Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. WASHINGTON, October 24. The Federal Reserve Board held two meetings during the crash on the stock market, and received full reports from the New York banks. Mr A. W. Mellon and other officials withheld comment, but it became known that they felt that the break was chiefly the result of ovet-expansion and inflated values due to speculative excesses, and that deflation was inevitable. Their chief worry was that it might go to extremes, with disastrous consequences, but that fear was somewhat allayed at the closing hour of the exchange, when it was felt that the losses were largely “ paper losses,’’ and that readjustment would not cause sccious business depression

The Treasury still expects to go ahead with its reduction programme, and various Senators commented on the situation.

Senator Glass said he will press for a 5 per cent.' tax on stock transfers made within sixty ■ days, and he also aaid he will offer an amendment to the National Banking Act and the federal Reserve Act, seeking to restrict speculation. Senator King said he will demand a thorough investigation of the Federal system.

Tha Reserve Board in its weekly report on brokers’ loans in New York, indicated a de-iing ot 167,000,000ri0l to a total of 6.634,000,000d01. This report, which is only up to Tuesday night, represents only a portion of the drop which must have occurred as a result of yesterday’s and to-day’s liquidation of the stock market. —Australian Press Association. TURN OF THE MARKET. LEADERS NOT PERTURBED, NEW YORK, October 24. During the financial crisis to-day representatives of the J P. Morgan Company, the National City Bank, the Chase National Bank, and the Guaranty Trust Company met at the offices of the J. P. Morgan Company, after which Morgan’s representative, Mr Thomas W. Lament, stated nonchalantly: “There has been a little distress selling on the Stock Exchange. This morning we held a meeting of financial institutions to discuss the situation, and we found that there are no houses in difficulty, and reports as to the maintenance ot a margin are very satisfactory. W- consider the situation of the exchange this morning a technical one rather than a fundamental one, and we believe it will re- ■ suit in betterment.” ' Thereupon the market began to turn. —Australian Press Association. RECORD SALES. NEW YORK, October 24. The sales for tbo day totalled 12,895,650, a record foi all time while the sales on curb totaled 6,337,400, which is also a record. Tn bond sales the record of ** numbe. oi years was broken by a total sale of 24,500,000 dollars, worth-—Australian Press Association. THROUGH THE NIGHT. NEW YORK October 24. Wall street, which, is normally as silent and deserted as Trinity Church graveyard, which faces it, was alive with workers and ablaze with light tonight. In every brokerage office word had gone forth that.'every employee, from the junior partner to the switchboard girls, must be prepared to work all night so that the tangled affairs of the financial sector resulting from the busiest day’s trading in the, history of the street might be set in order before the beginning of another day on the Stock Exchange.—United Service. LONDON AFFECTED. HEAVY SELLING ORDERS. LONDON. October 24. The scene at Throgmorton street . during a downpour of rain after the closing of the Stock Exchange was the most exciting since, before the war. Heavy selling orders came from the other side, and all the lending specialties broke before a wave of liquidation at big figures, and changed every few seconds as the dealers offered stock. Prices rallied later, although they showed substantial falls on the day. Australian Press Association. MARKET STABILISED POWERFUL BANKING SUPPORT. NEW YORK, October 25. (Received October 26, at 11.10 a.m.) Powerful banking support stabilised the stock market to-day, the closing quotations disclosing fairly moderate gains on the losses in the leading issues. Trading was approximately half the volume of that on Thursday. Chicago wheat prices rebounded sharply at the opening, when the steady tone of the early stock sales in--1 duceci heavy buying, also the reports from Liverpool and Buenos Aires markets, which favoured buying. Wheat closed : December, 121 \ cents per. bushel; March, 129|; May, 132|. — Australian Press Association. WHEAT PRICES FIRM AT WINNIPEG. VANCOUVER, October 25. (Received October 26, at 11.10 a.m.) A Winnipeg message states that despite tremendous liquidation to-day wheat closed more than a cent higher after the early losses of six cents. The largest export trade in the season’s crop worked on Thursday’s break.— Australian Press Association,