By Rex Crum

Technology stocks put in a strong performance Tuesday, as the Nasdaq Composite Index rose almost 2% and Emerson Electric Co. said it would acquire networking-equipment company Avocent Corp. for $1.2 billion in cash.

Emerson (EMR) said the deal values Avocent (AVCT) at $25 a share, a 22% premium over the stock's Monday closing price of $20.52 a share. Avocent makes hardware and software that companies use to manage data centers and counts Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) among its customers.

Avocent shares rose $4.34 to $24.86, while Emerson's stock added 54 cents to close at $39.22.

Another of Avocent's customers, Brocade Communications Systems (BRCD), saw its shares fall 19 cents to $8.90. Reports surfaced on Monday saying the maker or network routers and switches has put itself up for sale, and that Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) may be a potential buyer.

H-P shares rose 58 cents to $46.65.

Among other leading tech stocks, gains came from Apple Inc. (AAPL), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Dell Inc. (DELL), Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO), Intel Corp. (INTC) and IBM Corp. (IBM).

The Nasdaq (RIXF) got off to a good start and never lost its momentum, ending the day with a gain of more than 35 points to close at 2,103.The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) rose 1.9% and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) closed with a gain of 2%.