The Nasdaq composite index soared to a new record on Wall Street yesterday while blue-chip stocks once again lagged behind, pulled down by persistent worries that their earnings are not growing fast enough to offset rising interest rates.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 55.53, or 0.5 per cent, to 10,643.63.

Broader stock indicators were mixed.

The Nasdaq rose 122.37 to close at 4,485.61. It was the fourth new closing high in five sessions for the index, topping Tuesday's record of 4,427.50.

The Standard and Poor's 500 rose 5.14 to 1,416.85.

NYSE volume totalled 1.05 billion shares, against 1.04 billion in the previous session.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 6.20 to 542.20.