A week of substantial swings finished with the London market almost becalmed and delicately poised but with all the main indices within striking distance of record intraday and closing highs.

The stock market is now moving into the dog days of summer, which historically sees turnover fall away as overall business dries up.

But some traders are hopeful that the current spate of takeover activity, which has seen a steady stream of bids and mergers in the smallcaps, interspersed with bouts of action in the midcaps and some spectacular deals in the FTSE 100 constituents, will run on into the late summer.

As the curtain dropped yesterday, the FTSE 100 settled a net 11.8 off at 6,563.2, a move which left the index only a fraction ahead on the week.