Bank technology stocks weighed in with a mixed performance last week amid broad uncertainty in the general market.
Signs of impending weakness in corporate earnings, and suggestions from the Federal Reserve that the market is overvalued sent the market on a "roller coaster" ride for the week, said Gregory M. Gould, analyst at Goldman, Sachs & Co.
The rapid rise of many large stocks made valuations bump against their ceilings, so "everyone is getting out of those and into some small-caps where the valuations have come back into line," he said.
Gregory Rossmann, principle at Fort Lee, N.J.-based Broadview & Associates, added that yearend profit taking also might be driving the market down.
The Nasdaq Composite, where many technology firms are traded, lost 2.8 points for the week to close at 1,284.9. Goldman, Sachs' composite index of U.S.-traded technology firms also declined 1.21 points to close at 118.06.
In bank technology news, Diebold Inc.'s stock lost $2.625 to close at $53.875 for the week on no discernable negative news.
One analyst, who requested anonymity, attributed the drop to "end-of- year jitters." At nearly $60 a share last week, Diebold was "at its top end," the analyst said. "The stock is fully valued."
One piece of news possibly affecting Diebold's stock was its announcement of plans to open a new manufacturing plant in Lexington, N.C., next year. The Canton, Ohio-based company last month announced plans for two other facilities.
The plant openings are a response to growing demand for automated teller machines and other interactive terminals, said Diebold spokesperson Michelle Griggy. Combined spending for the three facilities will be about $35 million, Diebold said.
Diebold's plans "are very well-founded and thought out," said Richard Spoorer, an analyst at Parker Hunter Inc., Pittsburgh. The company "clearly needs the additional capacity," he said, because "demand for ATMs will continue to be strong for the foreseeable future."
In other news, Computer Sciences Corp.'s stock jumped $3.125 to close at $82.625 for the week.
The company signed a 10-year outsourcing contract worth more than $4 billion with DuPont Co., the Wilmington, Del.-based chemical giant.
The deal entails operating DuPont's computer networks and providing other technology services.
Under terms of the contract, Andersen Consulting also will provide services to DuPont, but Computer Sciences will get the lion's share of the revenue.
Also in the news, Verisign Inc., a privately held developer of digital identification technlogy for public networks, raised $30 million in a private placement. The Redwood City, Calif.-based company, was spun off from RSA Data Systems Inc. in April of last year.
It plans to use the capital to "establish a very large gap between us and any potential new market entrant," said Verisign vice president Richard Yanowitch.
Investors in the deal, arranged by Morgan Stanley & Co., include Merrill Lynch & Co., Microsoft Corp., Intuit Inc., and First Data Corp.
