Dow up 56.68

Associated Press

NEW YORK - Stocks pushed higher today after Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan indicated that only a modest interest rate hike may be in order to keep inflation well-tamed.

At the close on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 56.68 at 10,841.63. The advance followed the blue chips' nearly 190-point climb yesterday in response to a flat report on May consumer prices.

Broader stock indexes also rose today. Shrugging off early disappointing news from Compaq Computer Corp. and profit-taking, the Nasdaq composite index gained 26.32 to 2,544.15. Yesterday, the index rose 103.16 - its largest one-day point gain.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 9.49 today to 1,339.90.

Advancers outnumbered decliners by a 3-to-2 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,820 up, 1,163 down and 547 unchanged.

NYSE volume totaled 696.39 million shares vs. 801.36 million yesterday. The NYSE composite index rose 3.90 to 636.07, and the American Stock Exchange composite index rose 3.77 to 768.69. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 2.18 to 443.38.

The 30-year bond rose for a third time this week, climbing 1 14/32, or $14.38 per $1,000 face amount, to 90 9/32. Its yield fell 12 basis points to 5.95 percent, the lowest level in almost two weeks.

Compaq initially fell, affecting other technology stocks, after the computer maker predicted it would lose up to 15 cents a share in the second quarter, compared to a profit of 20 cents expected by Wall Street analysts. The stock ended up 25 cents at $22.50 on the NYSE.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 1.17 percent.