Share prices closed higher yesterday, but well off their intraday highs, after an early rally led by bargain-hunting and a firmer dollar folded due to thin volume, dealers said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 24.06 at 10,303.39, but off an intraday peak of 10,402. The S and P 500 was up 5.95 at 1,283.30 and the Nasdaq composite up 21.34 at 2, 761.75.

The 6-1/8 per cent 30-year benchmark bond was down 20/32 at 10117/32 yielding 6.009 per cent, pressured as investors switched funds into stocks.

Dealers said stocks shot higher at the outset of trade due to bargain-hunting after last week's 542-point free fall by the Dow, and due to easing worries over the dollar's weakness and over stock valuations.

But the major indices quickly hit resistance and investors will be reluctant to push prices substantially higher until stocks can establish firm support levels, traders said.