NEW YORK (AP) – Stocks nudged higher Thursday, struggling to resume a modest upward trend as investors juggled upbeat economic data, divergent earnings reports and a pullback in Chinese stocks.

While a mix of profit reports pushed and tugged at stocks Thursday, investors were also watching markets abroad, where stocks fell following word that economic growth in China’s first quarter jumped a higher-than-expected 11.1 percent and inflation increased at its fastest pace in more than two years. The increases stirred speculation that Chinese officials will take steps such as raising interest rates to curb growth.

Wall Street fell at the opening, then began to pare its losses after a research group said its barometer of future economic activity rose slightly in March, signaling modest growth in coming months. The Conference Board said its index of leading economic indicators rose 0.1 percent, as expected, to 137.4 in March. The reading follows two straight months of declines.

“The economic reports for March have been pretty decent. The earnings are coming through better than the reduced expectations,” said Charlie Smith, chief investment officer at Fort Pitt Capital Group. “The trends are still decidedly bullish. Markets are not linear. One to two days of pullbacks is just noise.”

In early afternoon trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 20.88, or 0.16 percent, to 12,824.72. On Wednesday, the Dow reached fresh trading and closing highs, perhaps signaling a recovery from a late February pullback that was triggered by a selloff on the Chinese market. Wednesday’s trading high of 12,838.46 and closing high of 12,803.84 broke records set Feb. 20.

Broader stock indicators rose Thursday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 1.54, or 0.10 percent, to 1,474.04. The S&P hit a new 6 1/2-year high Wednesday. The Nasdaq composite index rose 5.28, or 0.21 percent, to 2,515.78.

Bond prices fell after three straight sessions of gains following the release of decent economic data and some robust earnings reports. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.67 percent from 4.66 percent late Wednesday.

China’s sometimes volatile Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 4.5 percent Thursday. However, its decline wasn’t as steep as the nearly 9 percent drop Feb. 27 that touched off a worldwide sell-off and shaved more than 3 percent from the major U.S. indexes that day. Stocks fell in Europe Thursday, though at more modest levels than in Asia.

Japan’s Nikkei stock average fell 1.67 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 closed down 0.14 percent, Germany’s DAX index declined 0.54 percent, and France’s CAC-40 slipped 0.12 percent.

In addition to concerns about Asia, U.S. investors will be reviewing corporate profit reports and economic figures as they try to determine whether stocks are poised to move higher from recent gains.

EBay Inc.’s first-quarter earnings surged 52 percent, though lower taxes and a decrease in outstanding shares gave a boost to results. The online auctioneer slipped 23 cents to $34.22.

Nokia Corp., the world’s largest mobile phone maker, said Thursday its first-quarter net profit declined by 6.6 percent amid slipping handset prices. However, it added that its share of the global mobile phone market increased. Nokia advanced 85 cents, or 3.6 percent, to $24.72.

Merrill Lynch & Co. said first-quarter profits soared from a year earlier, when the nation’s largest retail brokerage booked a charge related to compensation expenses. Merrill rose 45 cents to $91.11.

Dow component Merck & Co. said its first-quarter profit jumped 12 percent as the drug maker saw higher sales and sold off some products. Merck rose 46 cents to $50.15.

Another one of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow industrials, Altria Group Inc., said its first-quarter profit fell 21 percent as it saw weakness in domestic cigarette sales. The parent of Philip Morris raised its full-year earnings forecast, however, which could offset some concern about the quarter’s results. Altria fell 58 cents to $69.50.

Most major American companies – even those reporting drops in first-quarter profits – have been exceeding the forecasts of analysts, who reined in their expectations after the stock market plunged in late February amid worries about tumbling markets overseas, the weakening dollar, a slowing economy and financial troubles among subprime lenders, which makes loans to those with poor credit.

UnitedHealth Group Inc., the nation’s second-largest health insurer, fell $2.02, or 3.7 percent, to $52.19, after the company recorded payments related to its stock options problems and lackluster enrollment in Medicare-related programs.

Schering-Plough Corp. said its first-quarter profit soared 55 percent, boosted by strong demand for its Remicade drug and other products; its results beat Wall Street’s forecast. Schering-Plough rose $2.49, or 8.7 percent, to $31.04.

In other economic data Thursday, the Labor Department said weekly applications for unemployment benefits slipped by 4,000 to 339,000 after hitting a two-month high a week earlier. While weekly figures can be volatile, the overall unemployment rate remains low. In March, it fell to 4.4 percent, flat with a five-year low.

Oil prices fell $1.45 to $61.68 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold prices edged lower, while the dollar only rose slightly against the euro and the British pound. The euro is near an all-time high against the dollar and the British pound is trading at 26-year highs versus the U.S. currency.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 928.7 million shares.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 0.62, or 0.08 percent, to 823.76.

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