Sentiment in London's stock market, so severely shaken by Tuesday's near 200-point setback, showed signs of a tentative recovery yesterday, with the main indices all managing to record modest gains for much of the day. A recovery on Wall Street helped reassure London dealers.

After a valiant struggle, Footsie finally succumbed to minor pulses of selling pressure just before the close, which drove the index back down into negative ground to finish 8.8 lower at 6,311.0. The FTSE 250 closed at 5,763.4, adding 9.8; the FTSE SmallCap was also positive at 2,485.5, plus 12.5.

BAT topped the FTSE 100 performance table and there was an abrupt about-turn in many British high-tech stocks which took such a beating during Tuesday's sell-off.

Turnover in equities continued at relatively high levels, with the 6 p.m. count reaching 1.3 billion shares. The FTSE 100 constituents again accounted for just over half the total.