The Nasdaq composite index sprinted to another new record in New York yesterday after the US government reported that workers' productivity was rising sharply, offering a potential buffer against inflation.

Blue-chip stocks shared in the good fortune, but pared their gains late in the session. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 51.81, or 0.5 per cent, to close at 10,957.60. The blue-chip index rose as much as 100 points early in the session.

The technology-laden Nasdaq rose 105.42, or 2.4 per cent, to 4,427.19, cruising past its previous record of 4,321.77, set on Monday. The Standard and Poor's 500 rose 18.39 to 1,442.63.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by an 8-to-7 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,600 up, 1,452 down and 474 unchanged.