** Shares of software companies surge in premarket trading as investors scoop up beaten down stocks, with broader tech sector rally buoying gains

** ServiceNow NOW.N up 8%, International Business Machines IBM.N up 9.5%, Adobe ADBE.O up 6.1%, Atlassian TEAM.O up 6%, Salesforce CRM.N rises 5.2%, Workday WDAY.O gains 6.3%

** Microsoft MSFT.O up 3.6% after Nvidia NVDA.O unveils new chip in partnership with co; Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang dismissed concerns that AI would reduce demand for software engineers

** S&P 500 software sector index .SPLRCIS logged its strongest monthly gain since Oct 2002 in May and ended last week at its highest level since late January after strong results from Dell DELL.N, Snowflake SNOW.N

** Technical indicators of SPLRCIS point to strong short-term momentum - index closed above its 200-day moving average for the first time since January on Friday; relative strength index over the past 14 sessions has jumped to 75.1

** Software sector had taken a hit during the first quarter on AI disruption worries and also exacerbated concerns in private credit markets; SPLRCIS down about 5% YTD

** However, shares of private equity and private credit companies exposed to sector such as Blackstone BX.N, Blue Owl OWL.N, Ares Management ARES.N and KKR KKR.N are down about 20% YTD each