NEW YORK — Most stocks lost ground yesterday as a stronger dollar pushed down commodity prices and investors grew jittery about the market's six-month rally.

The stronger dollar set off a slide in commodities such as oil and gold, which weighed on energy shares.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended with a loss of 41 points after being down 94 in morning trading.

Gains in health stocks supported the market, and Dell Inc.'s plans to buy information-technology company Perot Systems Corp. for $3.9 billion boosted tech stocks.

Analysts have been calling for a retreat in the market after stocks surged powerfully off of 12-year lows in early March, lifting the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index 57.4 percent.