Tech Stocks Join General Market Climb

In tune with the general market, bank technology stocks mostly rose last week.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 326 points for the week, to close at 8,149.13. Meanwhile the Goldman, Sachs & Co. index of U.S.-traded technology firms, which lists many bank technology companies, was up 3.85 points for the week. It closed at 154.54.

Computer Sciences Corp. was the largest mover among bank technology companies. Shares in the El Segundo, Calif., computer services company jumped $5.9375 for the week, to close Friday at $85.125.

A spokeswoman for Computer Sciences attributed the stock price improvement to the market's general warming to technology services companies.

The company generated two pieces of financial services news last week. First, it sold a collections services unit with $40 million in annual revenues to Equifax Inc. Second, it expanded a software licensing deal struck in 1995 with Computer Associates.

Under terms of the new Computer Associates contract, which extends through 2005, CA's Unicenter TNG will be the principal systems management software package used in Computer Sciences' outsourcing business.

The software - which helps companies manage networks, application systems, and data bases - will be used at J.P. Morgan & Co.

Other big gainers in the bank technology market included Electronic Data Systems Corp., whose stock rose $3.25, to close at $41.25 for the week; Intuit Inc., which jumped $5.5625, to $35.75; and HNC Software Inc., whose shares appreciated $5.50, to $37.

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