LONDON'S equity market delivered a steady performance at the start of a week that brings crucial policy decisions from the US and Germany.
Apart from the demerger debuts of Thorn and EMI, which prompted plenty of action in the two stocks and some keen turn over in the retailing sector, dealers reported a generally subdued trading session.
The FTSE 100 index, which ended last week at an all time closing high and which hit an intraday peak in mid session on Friday, closed the day a net 9.2 off at 3863.7, although the fall included almost 7.5 points worth of ex-dividends.
With the Footsie effectively only two points lower, there was better news for investors in second line stocks, where the FTSE Mid 250 index ended 1.9 firmer at 4368.3.
Turnover in equities fell to minimal levels, even by recent holiday standards, and came out at 440.3 million shares, one of the lightest figures for many weeks.
Marketmakers expected only routine activity in the London market until the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting ends on Wednesday.
The consensus is that the Fed will leave US interest rates on hold for the time being, although dealers were quick to point out that there remained a slight chance that the FOMC could nudge rates higher to head off any inflationary trends.
A downward shift in the repo rate in Germany was a distinct possibility, dealers said, but they added that such a move had already been factored into the market.
Footsie started on a buoyant note, boosted by Friday's good showing on Wall Street and the enthusiastic reception given to EMI, post its demerger. At its best, only minutes after the official opening of trading, Footsie was up 5 points at an intraday peak of 3877.9.
There was no real follow through in the market, however, and share prices embarked on a orderly retreat which took the index down to 3861.2, a fall of 11.7, around an hour after Wall Street opened for business.
The US equity market was marginally lower at one point but subsequently picked up to post a small rise 90 minutes after the London market closed.
