Stocks in Chipper Mood

Blue-chip stocks shook off a selloff in China to reach new highs.

The major market indices put in a narrowly mixed performance Thursday, but their solid showing speaks to Wall Street's improved mood this spring.

As they did Feb. 27, U.S. investors awoke Thursday to news that world stocks were selling off amid worries that the Chinese government might put the brakes on growth.

But a repeat of February's panicky 416-point drop on the Dow Jones Industrial Average wasn't in the works. Instead of worrying about inflation, rate-hike prospects and the far-off possibility of a global liquidity crisis, investors took reports of 11.1% GDP growth in China as a reminder that there's plenty of good news out there, too.

"China wants to see growth at 10% -- explain how that is bad," says Art Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co. "A strong Chinese economy is good for the planet."

The Dow, after opening down and sliding about 70 points, ended the day up 5 points at 12,808. The S&P 500 fell 2 points to 1470.73, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5 to 2505.35.

The Dow Jones Transportation Average, encompassing many of the stocks that have outperformed in the global economic growth story, ended the day up 0.6%.

Overnight in Asia, China's Shanghai Index dropped 4.7%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 2.3% and Japan's Nikkei slid 1.7%, as investors recognized that fast growth and higher-than-expected inflation in China could lead to more tightening of its monetary policy. In Europe, London's FTSE slipped 0.1%, while Germany's DAX fell 0.5%.