Still Higher

The lusty 1950 bull market last week turned in the most impressive performance yet. As the week began, stocks reached a new high mark of 215.81 on the Dow-Jones industrial average.

Then, in midweek, the market proved what many a wary trader had long doubted: that it could withstand a shakeout in the television shares, many of which had soared too far too fast. The shakeout was helped by reports that television's expected summer slump had already started. Although manufacturers promptly announced that they were actually increasing production, leading television shares slumped from two to four points in one day. Yet the market as a whole hardly even quivered and the next day it bounced upward again.

The market was getting its biggest boost from the reports of fat corporate earnings (see above), even though many stockholders complained that management was hanging on to too much cash and not passing out a big enough share of the profits in dividends. Nevertheless, the profit news itself was so good that the market kept edging up with determination. It closed the week by breaking all previous 1950 high marks for the third time in six days. At 217.03, the Dow-Jones industrial average was the highest it had been since Sept. 25, 1930.

Other things besides stocks were bouncing up. The impact of increased industrial production and Government stockpiling had begun to tighten the supply of metals, driving up the prices of such raw materials as zinc, lead and copper. Despite the great grain surplus, the prices of corn, wheat and other grains also rose because of exports, Government buying and bad weather. As a result, the Dow-Jones index of commodity futures last week rose to the highest level since December 1948. Traders who thought they saw a general rise in prices ahead once more began to talk about buying stocks as a hedge against further inflation.

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