TECH STOCKS: Palm Keeps Heading Up Broad Tech Gains

By Rex Crum

Gains by Palm Inc. continued to highlight action in tech stocks Thursday, as the company's shares climbed more than 25% after Hewlett-Packard Co. said it would acquire the struggling maker of smartphones such as the Pre and Pixi for $1.2 billion.

Palm (PALM) shares climbed $1.17 to $5.80 after H-P said late Wednesday it would acquire Palm for $1.2 billion. The deal values Palm at $5.70 a share.

The acquisition brings an end to months of speculation that Palm was exploring options such as putting itself up for sale. The company had recently banked much of its future on the success of its webOS smartphone operating system, but lackluster sales of its newest phones hastened the company's decline.

H-P (HPQ) shares gave up 45 cents to slip to $52.82.

Motorola Inc. (MOT) put in a decent performance, rising 21 cents a share, or 3%, to $7.13 after the company reported a first-quarter profit before the market opened. Motorola said its results were helped by shipping 8.5 million handsets, including more than 2 million smartphones such as the Droid.

Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) climbed $6.21 a share, or more than 18%, to $38.70 after the provider of content delivery services over the Internet reported strong quarterly results late Wednesday.

Chinese Internet giant Baidu Inc. (BIDU) saw its U.S.-traded shares climb $90, or more than 14%, to $712.11 after reporting an increase in its quarterly earnings before the market opened.

Semiconductor equipment maker KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) rose 98 cents a share, or almost 3%, to $34.58, and security-software company McAfee Inc. (MFE) gave up 2 cents to slip to $39.90 in advance of those companies' quarterly results, due after the market close.

Other gains came from Apple Inc. (AAPL), IBM Corp. (IBM), Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO), Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) and Google Inc.

The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) rose 37 points to 2,508, while the Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) were each up about 1%.