Front-line stocks in London's equity market scrambled back into positive territory yesterday, after spending all but the final hour of trading under downside pressure.

The late rally by the FTSE 100 index came as Wall Street began to accelerate after a rather sedate opening, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average registering a near three-figure gain as London closed.

Dealers in London expressed surprise at the pace of Wall Street's advance, which followed the decision taken late on Tuesday by the US Federal Reserve's open market committee to leave US interest rates on hold. That news came as no real surprise to markets across the globe, but there was substantial unease at the move by the Fed to shift to a tightening bias. That was interpreted as merely postponing another increase in US interest rates until later in the year.