Tech rally and oil's fall drive Wall Street's gains

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose on Monday as the introduction of a faster BlackBerry spurred optimism about business spending on technology, while cooling oil prices eased inflation concerns.

Research in Motion Ltd (RIM.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (RIMM.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) jumped 6.9 percent to $141.97 and hit a record, giving the tech sector an early lift. Nasdaq extended gains late in the session after news Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is close to a deal to buy Electronic Data Systems Corp (EDS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) for as much as $13 billion.

Financial shares also gained, as the long-suffering bond insurer MBIA Inc (MBI.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which reported stronger-than-expected results, said the volume of new business appears to be rising.

The Dow also got a big boost after Citigroup raised its forecast for the price of aluminum, lifting shares of Alcoa Inc (AA.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) 6.6 percent. Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), a top maker of earth-moving equipment, also rose.

Oil prices fell 1.4 percent after traders took profits on the recent string of record closes. The decline trimmed worries about rising inflation two days before the government reports on consumer prices for April.

"Money continues to go to individual names where the fundamentals continue to be strong. Clearly that was outlined by RIMM and the action in Apple," said Michael James, senior trader at regional investment bank Wedbush Morgan in Los Angeles.

"Money is going to companies and sectors where there still is economic growth, and there are a number of those stories within technology."

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 130.43 points, or 1.02 percent, to end at 12,876.31. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX gained 15.30 points, or 1.10 percent, to 1,403.58. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC advanced 42.97 points, or 1.76 percent, to 2,488.49.