Gored Bull

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Seldom in Wall Street's history had stocks climbed so steeply (about 25% increase in values) for so long (seven months) without a setback. Consequently, many a trader had been predicting a stumble in the present bull market. Last week it came—and as usual caught many an investor flatfooted.

The end of an uneventful day of trading was only 60 minutes away when a massive wave of selling started. As orders poured in from all over the U.S., the market tape fell eleven minutes behind actual transactions. In those last minutes 1,350,000 shares changed hands, and prices tumbled as much as 3 to 5 points.

Next day the shake-out continued as trading reached 3,330,000 shares, the biggest since May 1948. At the bottom of the two-day decline, the Dow-Jones industrial average was off more than 7 points. But in the final hour of the second day, the market suddenly reversed itself and started up. At week's end the average was still 5.06 points below the 1950 high of 201.98. But traders thought that the bull had merely been pricked by the picador, and was a long way from the kill.