Strong performances from old economy names, as well as from some of the more aggressive new economy companies, provided a much-needed respite for a London stock market still suffering from the tech/media/telecom (TMT) weakness of recent sessions.

But it was never easy for London to shake off the worries triggered by the steep declines in TMT issues, the fallout of which continued to make an impact on the wider market yesterday.

At the close of another stop-start session, the front-line indices - the FTSE 100, All-Share and 250 - managed to finish the day with decent gains, although the SmallCap and Techmark 100 remained extremely vulnerable.

Last Friday's record one-day 8.7 per cent fall in the Techmark 100 index, after the failure of Boo.com, the online retailer, continued to send ripples of concern across the market yesterday as more initial public offerings were put on hold.

After a day of worryingly erratic movements, the FTSE 100 finished a net 51.3 firmer at 6,086.8. Earlier in the day, the index had moved ahead confidently, posting a near three-figure gain during initial exchanges, reflecting Wall Street's better-than-expected finish on Monday. That saw the Dow Jones close 84 points off, but still well above its lowest of the session, when it lost more than 200 points. Even more impressive was the Nasdaq's rally, in which a 200-point fall was reduced to 26 points by the close.

The FTSE 250, meanwhile, never really looked like falling into negative territory, eventually closing 20.1 higher at 6,152.0, while the FTSE AllShare index settled 21.12 up at 2,905.34, having been up to 2,920.74.

The FTSE SmallCap, however, was not able to keep its head above water as worries about further Internet failures niggled away at investor confidence. While the market had to contend with TMT sector concerns, there were other big influences, notably the latest slide in sterling. The Bank of England's sterling exchange rate index fell 1.5 to 106.0, its lowest since early December.

Dealers also took note of the European Central Bank meeting due tomorrow, after which another increase in European interest rates cannot be ruled out. Top of the FTSE 100 table was Marks & Spencer, whose shares raced up 18 per cent as analysts took the view that all the bad news - the company slashed its dividend yesterday - may well be in the price.