Stocks pushed higher in New York today after Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan indicated that only a modest interest rate hike may be needed in order to keep US inflation well-tamed.

At the close on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 56.68 points, or 0.5 per cent, at 10,841.63. The advance followed the blue chips' nearly 190-point climb Wednesday in response to news of a minimal rise in May consumer prices.

Broader stock indexes also rose. Shrugging off early disappointing news from Compaq Computer and profit-taking, the Nasdaq composite index gained 26.32 to 2,544.15.

The Standard and Poor's 500 index rose 9.63 to 1,340.04. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 3-to-2 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,845 up, 1,199 down and 520 unchanged.

NYSE volume totalled 694.65 million shares, against 796.85 million in the previous session.