21 MARCH 1846, Page 12

MONEY MARKET.

STOCK EXCHANGE, FRIDAY AFTERNOON.

The Stock Market has been heavy during the whole week; and the closing prices of Consols this afternoon are 1 per cent below those of last Saturday. The

disposition to sell Stock appears to have been general among the public; and but for the support afforded by the purchases of the Government-broker on account of the Sinking-fund, Savings Banks, and Life Annuities, there is little doubt but that prices would have undergone a more serious depression. Among the chief causes of the present depression, may be cited the altered tone of the last advices from the United States; alarming reports prevalent in Paris of disasters to our forces in India; and the belief that the abandonment of many of the Railway schemes will lead to the withdrawal of the deposits and consequent sale of a large quantity of Stock. It is confidently rumoured that one scheme, which has largely attracted public attention' will be speedily given up, and Stock to the extent of more than 500,000/. be thrown upon the market by the withdrawal of the deposits. The usual meeting of the Bank proprietary occurred yesterday. The state- ment of the affairs of the establishment for the half-year just ended is highly satisfactory; and the usual dividend at the rate of 7 per cent per annum was de- clared; the Income-tax being paid by the corporation and not as in previous cases by the individual stockholders. No attempt was :made to obtain an increase of dividend.

Money still continues in demand; and the premium of Exchequer Bills has ex- perienced an extraordinary decline. The Bank-broker sold extensively on Wed- nesday; and as two other large sales occurred simultaneously, the premium de- clined suddenly from 35s. to 258. The market was a little firmer yesterday, the quotation having reached 29s.: it has experienced a further decline today, under the pressure of further sales, to 23s.; but has improved again, the last quotation being 27s.

The transactions in the Foreign Market have been unimportant. Prices may be cited as rather lower, and markets generally heavy, in consequence of the state of the English Stock-market. Notwithstanding the change of Ministry at Ma- drid, the price of Spanish Stock has been but little affected. In fact, there is no- thing like speculation either in Stocks or Shares.

The Railway Market is very fist. Shares in many of the principal lines may now be bought to pay 41 to 5 per cent upon the capital invested. Those of the great majonty of new lines for which bills were obtained in the course of the last session of Parliament, are either at a trifling premium or at a discount; very few realizing anything like the prices at which they were current in the state of Scrip. The Scrip of the schemes of the present session is nearly in every case at a discount, and extensive sales of any kind impossible. Indeed, so general is the conviction of difficulty in providing the capital required for the completion of the schemes in progress, that the successful passage of any one of them through any of the stages of its Parliamentary progress, instead of being an inducement to pur- chase, seems directly the reverse. No change or business of importance has occurred in the value of the French or Foreign

SATURDAY, TWELVE O'CLOCK.

Scarcely any business has occurred either in the English or Foreign Funds; the prices of which are the same as yesterday. The transactions in Shares have been unimportant: all descriptions, however, are lower; almost every one of the following quotations exhibiting a decline as compared with the prices of yester day: Caledonian, 9; Ditto, Half Shares, 21; Chester and Holyhead, 19; Cork and Waterford, 01; Direct Northern, 2A ; Eastern Counties, York-Extension, 11; Great Southern and Western (Ireland), 17; London and York, 21; Ditto, Half Shares, 21; Manchester and Birmingham, 75; Ditto, Quarter Shares, 71; Man- chester and Southampton, 1; Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton, 12; York and Selby, 73.

The Railway Shares are still much depressed; some of the favourite lines of last ear, as the Chester and Holyhead, and Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton, given in the morning: Cork and Waterford, 01; Direct Manchester, (Homing-

.'s,) 1; Ditto, (Rastrick's,) 31; Eastern Counties 20A i; Great Western, 145; London and Birmingham, 219; London and Bin:kw:4 SA; London and Brighton 6211; London and South-western, 75* ),; London and York, 2i; Manchester anti Birmingham, 751; Midland, 1441 5; Ditto, New, 291; Portsmouth Direct, 1# 2; Scottish Central, 151; Ditto, Midland, 2; Boulogne and Amiens, 121; Bordeaux, Toulouse, .and Cette, (Mackenzie's,) 2A; Dutch-Rhenish, 51 6; Lyons and Avig- non, 2; Luxembourg, li 1; Namur and Liege, 2i; Orleans and Bordeaux, 121 i. SATURDAY*, Two O'CLOCK.

There is no change in the prices of the English Funds, which close at the morn- ing's quotations. Exchequer Bills have been done at 23 and 26 premium, and are last marked at 26. In the Foreign Market, the only transactions requiring notice have been some sales of Spanish Active Five per Cents by brokers employed by Dutch agency-houses. The price of this description of security has consequently fallen about 1 per cent, while the Three per Cents have contrariwise advanced about i per cent.

at a discount. We have to notice the following bargains, in addition to those

3 per Cent Consols ..... • • • 95I I Columbian ex Venezuela ... 16 17 Ditto for Account

961 Danish 3 per Cents 87 9 3 per Cent Reduced

shut Dutch 2i per Cents

592 f

31 per Cents

shut Ditto 4 per Cents

952 I

Long Annuities

shut Mexican 5 per Cents 314 Bank Stock

shut Ditto Deferred 16 17 Exchequer BM Prem. 23 6 Portuguese New 5 p. Cis. 1841 55 57 India Stock

shut Ditto 4 per Cents 1845 Prem. 55 57

Brazilian 5 per Cents

82 4 Russian 5 per Cents .ex div. 1074 94 Belgian 41 per Cents

97 9 Spanish (Active) 5 per Cents

254 1.

Chaim 6 per Cents

98 100 Ditto 3 per Cents 1842

as*