WALL Street stocks closed higher yesterday as the market steadied in the aftermath of Friday's steep drop. The Dow Jones was bolstered by some strong first quarter profit reports.

The index, which traded at a modest loss for much of the session, slid nearly 150 points on Friday to wipe out the rest of what had been a 10 per cent gain for the year.

There were no major economic reports to calm or aggravate the prevailing inflation worries that have dragged US markets lower over the past month.

Declines outnumbered advances by a 7-to-5 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,042 up, 1,449 down and 847 unchanged.

The Standard and Poor's 500 stock list rose 6.08 to 743.73, and the NYSE's composite index rose 2.02 to 391.49. The Nasdaq composite index rose 9.51 to 1216.41, and the American Stock Exchange composite index fell 3.16 to 52.97.