Stocks gained ground on Thursday as encouraging signs of economic growth eased Wall Street’s fears of a business slowdown.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 79.80 points, or 0.8 percent, to close at 10,537.60. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 7.61 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,197.62. The Nasdaq Composite Index moved up 21.12 points, or 1 percent, to 2,071.24.

The Commerce Department reported that U.S. gross domestic product was up 3.5 percent in the first quarter, a hike from the previously reported annual rate of 3.1 percent. Investors welcomed the report as a sign the economy was still expanding and that inflation risks had lessened.

The news helped minimize the impact of this week’s rise in oil prices. A barrel of light crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled at $51.01, up 3 cents.

Among local companies, shares of Calabasas-based homebuilder Ryland Group Inc. gained 5.1 percent to $68.25 after luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers Inc. reported second-quarter profit of $2.01 a share, exceeding the $1.79 average analyst estimate in a Thomson survey. Shares of Lennar Corp., Beazer Homes USA Inc., Pulte Homes Inc. and Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. also rose on the news.

OSI Systems, Inc. rose 4.6 percent to $15.28 after the Hawthorne-based maker of security and inspection systems said it bought back 157,000 of its common shares in its fourth quarter through May 25 for an average price of $14.25 each. The company also was authorized to purchase an additional 1.3 million shares.

Tekelec edged up 2.3 percent to $13.55 after the Calabasas-based telecommunications products company’s stock was raised to “buy” from “hold” by Matrix USA.

And Occidental Petroleum Corp. rose 1.7 percent to $72.69 after the L.A.-based oil company’s stock was upgraded to “outperform” from “in-line” by Goldman Sachs.