Major stock indexes rose to their highest levels in more than a month early this week after corporate buyouts raised hopes about the economy.

Following the first two trading days this week, the Dow Jones was higher by 0.8% at 10,405.98, while the broader market indicators were in positive ground as well. The S&P 500 was up 1.3% at 1,118.30, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ increased 1.8% to finish at 2,279.36.

Personal spending jumped by a larger amount than expected in January but Americans’ incomes barely budged as millions of Social Security recipients did not get their usual cost of living boost. The weak income growth could depress spending in the months ahead, acting as a further drag on the fragile economic recovery.

The Commerce Department said Monday that personal spending rose by 0.5 percent in January, slightly better than expected. However, incomes edged up only 0.1 percent, significantly lower than the 0.4 percent gain that economists had expected.

The 0.1 percent rise in incomes was below the 0.4 percent gain that economists had expected. The weakness came even though private wages and salaries were up by $16.1 billion at an annual rate, compared to a $2.3 billion gain in December.

The income gain was the weakest showing in four months and raised more concerns about whether consumers will be able to keep spending at a sufficiently strong pace to support an economic rebound.

With after-tax incomes falling as spending increased, the personal savings rate dipped to 3.3 percent in January, down from 4.2 percent in December. For all of 2009, the savings rate had risen to 4.3 percent, the highest annual savings rate since 1998.

An industry trade group says the manufacturing sector expanded in February for the seventh straight month, but at a slower pace than in the previous month.

The Institute for Supply Management said Monday that its manufacturing index read 56.5 last month, slightly slower than the 58.4 growth in January. It was also slower than the 58 level expected by economists polled by Thomson Reuters.

ISM said its employment measure grew for the fourth time in five months, accelerating to 56.1 in February from 53.3 in January. February’s number is the highest since January 2005.

Construction spending fell for a third straight month in January as a lag in commercial activity such as office buildings and hotels offset a housing rebound.

The Commerce Department said Monday that construction spending dropped 0.6 percent in January, a decline that was slightly smaller than the 0.7 percent drop that economists had expected.

Housing construction rose 1.3 percent, although that gain could be temporary given the weakness seen in sales of both new and existing homes in January. Spending on nonresidential projects fell by 2.1 percent.

With the third monthly decline, construction spending in January stood at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $884.12 billion, down 11.5 percent from a year ago.

Economic data due up for the remainder of the week includes the ISM Services number, the Fed’s Beige Book, along with Productivity numbers, Factory Orders, Pending Homes Sales and the important February Employment Report, released on Friday morning.