NEW YORK (AP) – Solid gross domestic product growth boosted stocks Thursday as investors’ concerns about the health of the economic expansion eased.

The economy grew by an encouraging 3.5 percent in the first quarter of the year – up from a 3.1 percent estimate last month but slightly less than the 3.6 percent economists had expected. Investors welcomed the report as a sign that the economy was still expanding and inflation risks had lessened.

The news also helped minimize the impact of this week’s rise in oil prices, given that energy costs had not dampened first-quarter GDP to a great degree. A barrel of light crude was quoted at $51.45, up 47 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

“Oil’s going to be slipping and sliding around, but the fact remains it fell nearly $10 from its highs,” said Bryan Piskorowski, market analyst at Wachovia Securities. “It’s injecting a little caution into the market, but otherwise the GDP number didn’t make any waves, kind of in line with what we expected, and we’re getting a bounce off it.”

At midday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 63.19, or 0.6 percent, to 10,520.99.

Broader stock indicators also moved higher. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up 6.63, or 0.6 percent, at 1,196.64, and the Nasdaq composite index gained 17.72, or 0.9 percent, to 2,067.84.

Bonds edged higher after the previous session’s selloff. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 4.07 percent from 4.09 percent late Wednesday. The dollar rose to a new 2005 high against the euro as pessimism over the new European constitution weighed on the 12-nation currency, and the dollar rose against most other currencies as well. Gold prices fell.

In corporate news, embattled Dow component General Motors Corp. rose 12 cents to $31.61 after a media report said the company was considering a spinoff or sale of its residential mortgage business that could bring in up to $10 billion. GM called the move speculation.

Costco Wholesale Corp. reported a 6 percent rise in profits, beating Wall Street forecasts by a penny per share. However, the company said its expansion plans could run into trouble due to rising real estate costs and resistance in some cities to having large so-called “big box” retailers. Costco was down 40 cents at $45.02.

Luxury home builder Toll Brothers climbed $4.98 to $90.71 after it reported a sharp jump in second quarter earnings that surpassed analysts’ expectations by 22 cents per share. The company also boosted its forecasts for its full-year results.

Indonesian airline Lion Air said it would purchase 60 737 jets from Boeing Co. in a deal worth up to $3.9 billion. Boeing also notched a deal with Singapore Airlines for 20 737s with a list price value of $1.1 billion, with an option for 20 more aircraft. Boeing rose $1.42 to $62.87.

Rising pork and beef costs ate into Hormel Foods Corp.’s quarterly earnings. The maker of Spam reported a modest 4 percent rise in profits after one-time charges, missing Wall Street’s profit forecasts by 2 cents per share. Hormel tumbled 7.2 percent, or $2.36, to $30.39.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by more than 5 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 547.59 million shares, compared with 542.75 million traded at the same point on Wednesday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies was up 6.14, or 1 percent, at 612.54.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.12 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.47 percent, Germany’s DAX index gained 1.07 percent, and France’s CAC-40 climbed 0.9 percent.