Dow Gains 10.72 Despite Dollar Woes

Stocks ended slightly higher in erratic trading Monday after two favorable economic reports. Concerns about higher commodity prices and the continuing decline of the U.S. dollar, however, tempered enthusiasm for stocks.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 10.72 points to 4,168.41.

Advancing issues narrowly outnumbered declines on the New York Stock Exchange.

Volume on the floor of the Big Board came to 287.36 million shares as of 4 p.m., down significantly from 352.97 million in Friday’s session.

At center stage, analysts said, was the sense that the economy is slowing under the weight of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate increases.

A widely followed survey of manufacturers showed American manufacturing expanded in March, but at a slower pace than in previous months.

Earlier, the Commerce Department said Americans’ personal income rose 0.5 percent in February, the smallest gain in three months, while spending increased more slowly than it has in nearly a year.

Some of the stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily:

NYSE

E-Systems, up 18 1/2 points to 63 7/8.

Raytheon Co. said it would pay about $2.3 billion in cash for E-Systems Inc. Raytheon was down 1 1/8 at 71 3/4.

DuPont, up 5/8 to 61 1/8.

Seagram has said it wants to sell its 25 percent stake in DuPont.

Morrison Knudsen, up 1 to 7

The Boise-based engineering, construction and rail concern named Robert Miller Jr., a former Chrysler Corp. top executive, its new chairman Sunday.

NASDAQ

Sybase, down 7/8 to 39 1/8.

Goldman Sachs & Co. lowered a rating on the stock because of concerns about the ability of the company’s software to work on faster computers.

Actel Corp., down 1 1/4 to 111/2.

The company said it would report a fiscal first-quarter loss because of a write-off of in-process research and development bought from Texas Instruments. The company also said revenues would be down 7 percent from the fourth quarter.

AMEX

Exx Inc. Class A, down 1 7/8 at 16 3/8. Class B, down 1 3/4 to 15 3/4.

The stock continued its decline begun last week, even though the Las Vegas manufacturer reported fourth-quarter earnings of 46 cents a share, compared with 7 cents in the year-earlier period.