Profit Letdown From Oracle Hurts Sector

The market's pounding of Oracle Corp. shares last week sent ripples through a number of investment sectors, banking technology among them.

Oracle, the world's second-largest software company after Microsoft Corp., watched its share price drop 27% last week to $22.75 on earnings that failed to meet investors' expectations.

The news contributed to a bad week for the general markets. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 3.8% for the week to close at 7838.3 Friday. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed at 1536.6, down 6%. And the Goldman Sachs technology index, which lists many bank technology companies, was off 10.6% and closed at 138.18.

Harbinger Corp. was among the bank technology companies hardest hit. Its shares dropped $6.25 last week to close at $21.625 Friday. In late November the company's shares had been trading in the $31 range.

Gary Craft, an analyst at Robertson Stephens, attributed the falloff to poor third-quarter earnings and to investor concerns regarding Harbinger's pending $216 million acquisition of Premenos Corp.

Mr. Craft said the acquisition makes good sense, but that executives must do a better job communicating with investors and managing their businesses.

Also hurt in the general technology downturn were Computer Sciences Corp., which lost $9.562 for the week to close at $75.50, and Paymentech Inc., which dropped $1.6875 to $13.3125.

DST Systems, a provider of mutual fund processing services, was one of the few gainers. Its shares appreciated $2.50 and closed at $41.375.

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