Four to Go

Not in 19 months had the New York stockmarket seen such hustle-bustle. One day last week, 2,330,000 shares changed hands, the biggest volume of trading since Dec. 9, 1946. Next day the market was even busier; 2,470,000 shares were sold, and 1,131 issues (out of 1,396 listed) were traded. It was the "broadest" market in Stock Exchange history.

The trading even spread to Stock Exchange seats. In one day, five seats changed hands, the largest number on record. The top price was $62,000; six weeks ago, a seat on the Exchange sold for as low as $46,000.

The busy trading was more impressive in its volume than in the amount of dollar gains. Nevertheless, the Dow-Jones industrial average moved up 2.82 points for the week. The rail average rose to 58.57, the highest since August 1946, before the autumn crash.

Some traders, thinking that the six-week, 18-point rally had just about reached its crest, started taking their profits. Others were firmly convinced that the long-awaited bull market had arrived. The Dow theorists, anxiously awaiting the "breakthrough" proof of a bull market, had close to four points to go to give the optimists statistical backing. The Dow-Jones industrial average had to break through last year's high (186.85) as the rails had already done. While they waited for this happy event, traders, especially small traders, were happier than they had been in a long time. They had doubted that corporations could keep wages from rising and keep up their present record rate of profits (see Earnings). But Big Steel's refusal to boost wages had taken much of the steam out of the third round of demands (see NATIONAL AFFAIRS). Investors were beginning to think that the present rate of profits could be kept up for quite a while.

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