Indian fintech vendors battered again

The Finextra50 index closed the week at 83.11, down from 84.48 a week earlier.

Again, there were more fallers than risers in the index, but the losses and gains were more modest than in recent weeks.

Twelve indexed companies saw their shares fall more than five per cent, with UK financial software outfit Gresham Computing the biggest loser. Gresham - which saw its stocks slide a further 12.04% to end the week at 47.5 pence - is now the worst performing firm in the Finextra50 and and has seen its stock lose 65.35% of its value since the index launched last May.

Although Gresham was the biggest faller, it is the Indian firms that dominate the list of losers for the second week running.

Bangalore-based BPO outfit Mphasis saw its stock drop 11.73% during the week to finish at Rs191.1 at close of business on Friday. Meanwhile shares in call centre firm Firstsource - which was the biggest faller in the index the previous week - continued to slide and finished at Rs34.65 on Friday, down 11.04%.

Indian vendors Nucleus Software and 3i Infotech - both of which struggled in the previous week - were also hit again. Nucleus Software closed the week down 10.31% to Rs228 on Friday, while 3i Infotech stock fell 10.27% to Rs100.5.

Outside of India, US payments technology vendor ACI Worldwide - which saw its stock rise in the previous two weeks - dropped 8.15% to close Friday at $18.03.

Just 12 companies in the index posted gains last week, and of these just three saw gains of more than five per cent.

Atlanta-based front office vendor S1 Corporation topped the table of risers with its stock increasing 10.41% to finish at $7.85 on Friday.

Swiss banking systems vendor Temenos and Vasco Data Security were the only other companies on the index to see gains of more than five per cent. Temenos saw its shares rise 7.76% to Chf26.40, while Vasco stock increased 6.39% to close Friday at $11.66.

Australia's Computershare, posted a more modest gain, with its stock increasing 2.75% to A$8.22.

Shares in California-based Advent Software, which supplies investment management technology, also gained last week and were up 3.40% to $44.95 on Friday. The company is the best performer in the index and has seen its value rise by 30.52% since the Finextra50 began last year.