RIM, Cisco Lead Tech Stocks Higher

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) and Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) helped the Nasdaq to its highest close since Sept. 3, 2008, even as the broader market ended a six-day winning streak.

Cisco gained nearly 4 percent in heavy volume ahead of what the company claims will be a major networking announcement. Some analysts speculate that it could be a wireless Internet announcement aimed at service providers, while EMC (NYSE: EMC) shares gained 3 percent on hopes that the storage giant could be included in whatever Cisco announces.

RIM shares climbed almost 6 percent on a BMO Capital Markets upgrade ahead of the smartphone maker’s quarterly results due out at the end of the month, but Palm (NASDAQ: PALM) shares remained under pressure, down 2.8 percent.

Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) will also report its quarterly earnings later this month, on March 25, six days before RIM.

The stock market will pass two milestones this week. Tuesday will mark the first anniversary of the 2007-2009 bear market low, while Wednesday will mark the 10-year anniversary of the Nasdaq’s all-time high and the beginning of the dot-com bust. The Nasdaq remains more than 50 percent below its all-time high set a decade ago.

Ciena (NASDAQ: CIEN) fell 5.7 percent on plans to raise $250 million through convertible notes.

TravelZoo (NASDAQ: TZOO), Tufco (NASDAQ: TFCO) and Zoom (NASDAQ: ZOOM) managed gains of more than 20 percent each.

After the close, Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) slipped after the company raised the low end of its sales and earnings guidance.