The British equity market's recovery gave way yesterday, with an early 30-point gain in the FTSE 100 index eventually replaced by a closing fall of 45.3 to 5,206.6.
The downside pressure resulted from a gradually deteriorating performance by Wall Street after its recent run of successes.
The US market was hit yesterday by disappointing results from "big oil" with Exxon, Amoco - in the throes of being taken over by BP - and Tenneco unveiling third-quarter numbers.
Earlier, a double dose of economic news reinforced the optimists' views that another reduction in domestic interest rates was on the cards.
This included publication of the minutes of the last meeting of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee (MPC), following which British interest rates were cut by 25 basis points.
The minutes revealed that the call for a cut in rates was unanimous with seven members of the committee voting for the 25 basis points and two, Mr DeAnne Julius and Mr Willem Buiter, a former "hawk", seeking a cut of 50 basis points.
That news was immediately interpreted as meaning there remains scope for further cuts in rates, with a further 25 basis points a distinct possibility after the next meeting of the MPC, scheduled for November 4th and 5th.
Apart from a momentary lapse into the red during the first hour of trading, the FTSE 250 looked comfortable throughout the rest of the session. It eventually closed 7.3 firmer at 4,638.1 having hit a session-high of 4,649.2 in the early afternoon. That extended the sequence of winning performances from the index to a remarkable nine in a row. During that period the index has rallied 386.9 or 9.1 per cent. Over the same period the FTSE 100 has recovered 10.8 per cent.
