Dow Sinks 6.06 In Shallow Trading

Stocks closed mixed Monday in a subdued session held in check by the dollar’s weakness and other economic concerns.

Buying enthusiasm was limited, with one stock, Pet Inc., getting much of the attention. News that Pet will be acquired by the Pillsbury division of Britain’s Grand Metropolitan PLC for $26 a share, or $2.6 billion, was one of the few noteworthy developments during the session.

Most market indicators never strayed far from their starting points. The Dow Jones industrial average finished at 3,861.35, off 6.06 after meandering at modestly higher and lower readings all day.

Gainers led losers by about 7 to 6 on the NYSE where trading volume came to 278.72 million shares. On Friday, 308 million shares changed hands on the Big Board’s floor.

Don Hays, investment strategist at Wheat First-Butcher & Singer, said positive and negative crosscurrents in the market canceled each other out and made for an almost neutral day.

Some of the stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Monday on the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq Stock Market, and American Stock Exchange:

NYSE

Pet Inc., up 5-3/8 to 25-1/2 on volume of nearly 16 million shares.

The stock rose in response to news that the Pillsbury division of Britain’s Grand Metropolitan has agreed to buy Pet in a deal worth $2.6 billion, or $26 a share.

Telefonos de Mexico, down 3/8 to 36-1/2.

Grupo Televisa, down 1-3/4 to 25-1/8.

Mexican stocks remained a focus of attention as investors monitored developments in the country’s financial crisis.

Advanced Micro Devices, up 1 to 28-7/8.

The stock reacted to a report in The Wall Street Journal that Advanced Micro Devices is negotiating with Intel about ending their sevenyear legal dispute over AMD’s desire to clone Intel computer chips. Intel rose 1/8 to 66 in Nasdaq trading.

NASDAQ

Lotus, up 2 to 42.

The stock advanced after an industry magazine, PC Week, published an article speculating that AT&T might be interested in buying Lotus. On the NYSE, AT&T rose 1/8 to 48-3/8. The companies had no comment concerning the speculation.

AMEX

Epitope, down 1-1/2 to 17-1/2.

The stock gave back some gains made last month when the Food and Drug Administration gave Epitope approval to sell a product that uses siliva instead of blood to test for AIDS.