Technology stocks outpaced the general market in the first three quarters of 1997.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 24% and the Standard & Poor's 500 index 29%. The Nasdaq composite, which lists many technology firms, rose 32%.
But all of these were bested by Goldman Sachs & Co.'s technology index of U.S.-traded firms, which lists many bank vendors. It jumped 39% in the nine months.
"Technology stocks in general have been doing well," said Neeraj K. Vohra, analyst at Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co., Arlington, Va.
He added that many electronic commerce companies are back in favor and will remain so as long as they continue to meet or exceed earnings expectations.
"There is a growing realization that electronic commerce is definitely a growth industry, so a lot of investors are betting on it."
In news affecting bank technology providers, CFI Proservices Inc. reported revenues of $17.9 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30. It earned 18 cents per share, missing Wall Street's consensus expectations by a penny.
The Portland, Ore.-based provider of compliance and home banking software said it excluded revenues from a new mortgage origination product because the product still has bugs.
"We anticipate having those issues resolved by the end of next quarter," said Laura Martin, spokeswoman at CFI Proservices.
In other news, Diebold Inc.'s third-quarter earnings exceeded expectations by a penny.
The North Canton, Ohio-based provider of automated teller machines and security equipment earned 48 cents per share on revenues of $317 million.
San Diego-based HNC Software Inc., which sells fraud detection software to banks, also beat consensus estimates by a penny. It earned 14 cents, on revenues up 59% from a year earlier to $23.2 million.
