Could Oracle Go Shopping Again?

With its attempted takeover of PeopleSoft in jeopardy, Oracle may be eyeing other acquisitions, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The Journal said that Oracle may interested in BEA Systems , among other possibilities, as the company continues to study ways to fill out its product portfolio.

Oracle isn’t the only company that sees consolidation coming to the business software sector. Siebel may be interested in acquiring Hyperion , Cognos or Business Objects , Barron’s reported.

The market posted strong gains Monday despite weaker than expected manufacturing and construction reports, as strength in Asian markets continued to boost U.S. stocks.

The Nasdaq surged 27 to 2057, the S&P 500 gained 11 to 1155, and the Dow rose 94 to 10,678. Volume declined to 1.46 billion shares on the NYSE, and 1.71 billion on the Nasdaq. Advancers led 25-7 on the NYSE, and 21-10 on the Nasdaq. Upside volume was 81% on the NYSE, and 80% on the Nasdaq. New highs-new lows were 473-5 on the NYSE, and 251-5 on the Nasdaq.

Applied Materials gained 2% on positive company comments, and Intel gained despite a downgrade based on weak notebook sales. Also helping chip stocks was a strong report from the Semiconductor Industry Association.

UTStarcom climbed 4% on a deal with Cisco .

Emulex rose 5% on an upgrade.

Lightbridge slipped on an acquisition.

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