Around the World's Markets: New York

STOCKS FELL yesterday after a speech by the Federal Reserve chairman, Alan Greenspan, led to jitters about inflation and possible rising interest rates.

The Dow Jones average closed off 8.59 points, 0.08 per cent, at 10,946.82, clawing back most of its earlier 103-point drop. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite index fell 61.26 points, or 2.42 per cent, to 2,473.19 as the outlook for the high-flying index came under pressure from rising interest rates. The broader S&P 500 dropped 15.13 to close at 1,332.18.