NEW YORK, April 6: Blue-chip stocks climbed on Friday after diversified manufacturer Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Co. told investors it was on track to meet quarterly earnings, adding to cheer after data showed the economy created jobs at a faster-than-expected clip.

But the broad market was little changed, held down by technology stocks after McData Corp., which makes switches for data storage networks, warned profits will miss forecasts as businesses cut orders.

3M has always been the stock that tells you where the economy is going, because it makes so many diverse products, said Gil Knight, fund manager for Allied Investment Advisors, which manages $11 billion. But, he said, the tech sector is still under a real cloud and anything to do with software or information technology spending, forget it.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 70.51 points, or 0.69 per cent, at 10,305.68. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was down 0.16 points, or 0.01 per cent, at 1,126.18. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was down 6.73 points, or 0.38 per cent, at 1,783.02.

Minnesota Mining, a Dow stock, surged $6.98, or 6.1 per cent, to $121.10. The maker of Post-It notes and Scotch tape said quarterly earnings will be at the high end or surpass earlier expectations after aggressive cost-cutting. The company also said it would be changing its name to 3M Co.

Among other Dow gainers, Alcoa Inc. tacked on a gain of 93 cents at $37.81. The world’s No. 1 aluminum producer said earnings fell 46 per cent from a year-ago as weak global demand for aluminum kept prices low. But the fact that it returned to profitability in the first quarter was enough for investors to snatch up the stock, which has fallen 3.4 per cent in the past three months.

Investors in times of uncertainty have a tendency to move money into bigger companies, figuring they have the resources to weather storms better, said Howard Kornblue, managing director with ING Funds, which oversees $35 billion. I think that’s why you have this discrepancy between Dow and Nasdaq.

Tech shares slid after McData said it would likely report a loss for the year, compared with an earlier expectation for a profit. Shares tumbled $3.08, or 24 per cent, to $9.47. Sector leader EMC Corp.—Reuters