CHICAGO (CNN/Money) - Technology stocks soared Thursday on a wave of bargain hunting so strong that not even an accounting mishap from Hewlett-Packard could keep buyers at bay.

The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 61.54, or 4.81 percent, to close at 1,340.78, according to preliminary results. Among blue chips, Microsoft (MSFT: Research, Estimates) advanced $1.28 to $24.67, Dell Computer (DELL: Research, Estimates) moved up 88 cents to $26.89, and IBM (IBM: Research, Estimates) climbed $3.27 to $78.45.

In other tech indexes, the Morgan Stanley 35 gained 14.23 to 291.30, while the CBOE Technology Index shot up 16.33 to 346.76.

Although geopolitical events and corporate performance has kept tech investors skittish, analysts have pointed out that many stocks have been oversold. But today's action shouldn't be read as the beginning of a recovery. As long as the Iraq situation remains unresolved, strategists say, tech stocks will remain under pressure, although brief upswings would occur amid bargain hunting and short covering.

AOL Time Warner (AOL: Research, Estimates), the parent company of CNN/Money, gained 16 cents to $10.85. The Wall Street Journal reported that German media firm Bertelsmann is among the companies expressing interest in making a bid for AOL's books unit.

One tech giant that didn't participate in the rally was Hewlett-Packard (HPQ: Research, Estimates), which fell 20 cents to $15.37 after the firm restated its operating cash flow for the quarter ending Jan. 31, lowering the total by 18 percent.

News from the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International trade group that chipmaking equipment sales fell 7 percent in January couldn't put a damper on semiconductor shares. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index gained 23.01, or 8 percent, to close at 310.46. Amid the volatility within the tech sector, the Sox index is up 7.33 percent for the year.

Shares of chip-equipment makers, regarded as the leading indicators for the semiconductor sector, posted strong gains, despite the fact that Needham downgraded Applied Materials, KLA-Tencor, and Novellus Systems to "hold" from "buy," based on indications that industry fundamentals may further soften. Applied Materials (AMAT: Research, Estimates) jumped 91 cents to $12.66, KLA-Tencor (KLAC: Research, Estimates) added $1.78 to $35.37, and Novellus Systems (NVLS: Research, Estimates) gained $1.49 to $27.47.